Chasing Eternity
by Waffle Maker Studios
Summary: Hiccup had managed to keep his friendship with Toothless secret until Astrid finds and follows Hiccup in the woods on his way to visiting the dragon. Alienated and alone, Hiccup faces the decision to try and salvage his life on Berk, or to trust it to the eternities. [CURRENTLY ON HIATUS]
1. The Fear In His Eyes

**Salutations Internet**

 **This fanfiction has undergone a complete overhaul, so if you read it before 5/23/15, you should read this chapter-it's different. I needed to fix up the story line, and so I decided to start it earlier. But now, here we are, writers block is gone, and I am ready to give you a functional story.**

 **But, if you are new in discovering this story, then I wish you the best and all enjoyment-I write partially for you guys too. Thanks!**

 **-WaffleMakerStudios**

Chasing Eternity

Chapter One

The Terror In His Eyes

"Oh the gods hate me." Hiccup grumbled. "Some people lose their knife in the mud, oh not me! I manage to lose an entire _dragon_?" He shoved away a tree branch blocking his path, only to have it recoil directly back into his face. He cried out, his hand jumping to his stinging cheek.

Valhalla forbid anything go right.

Then, he squinted. The tree he had swiped at looked odd-bent, broken. Looking around, all of the rest of the trees were as well, as though something had crashed into them. And there, on the ground in front of him, was a huge furrow. Something big had definitely come through here.

Hiccup's heart began beating faster. Had he done it? Skidding down the side of the hill, he crept along, barely making a sound. Then, with a surge of bravery, he peeked his head over the crest of the hill.

And gasped, dropping back to the ground. It couldn't be...

Slowly standing up again, he felt a grin of relief spread across his face. Sprawled on the ground caught in a bola was the Night Fury itself.

"Oh, yes!" Hiccup breathed, picking his way down the hill towards the dragon. "Oh this fixes everything!" He placed his foot atop the dragon's heaving body. "I have brought down this mighty beas-Woah!" He stumbled back as the dragon surged, trying to get away.

Hiccup surveyed the Night Fury cautiously, pulling his knife from the waistband of his tunic. Rolling his shoulders to steel his nerves, he murmured "I'm gonna' kill you dragon. I'm gonna'...gonna' cut out your heart and take it to my father." He wasn't sure if that was what he ought to do, but it sounded good. "I am a viking." He frowned. That didn't sound confident enough, so he tried again. "I am a viking!"

There, much better.

He shifted the knife in his hands, trying to get a better grip. His heart was pounding. He closed his eyes, raising the knife for the killing blow. And tried to bring it down. But he couldn't. And again. And couldn't. He opened his eyes, locking gazes with the dragon.

Sympathy, pity, understanding washed through him as the Night Fury stared at him. Hiccup wasn't a dragon expert by any means, but he thought he understood the expression on the dragon's face. Fear.

Then it groaned, and fell back to the ground, waiting for death.

He braced himself again. _I can do this, I can kill it!_ But it felt so wrong. He couldn't kill this creature, not when it had feelings like him, like everyone else.

And when he reopened his eyes, he saw the dragon in a new light. Instead of feeling triumph at shooting it out of the sky, he just felt sick. "What have I done?" He murmured.

Taking a deep breath, he knelt and began cutting the ropes, cursing himself for being so weak. When the first one snapped, the dragon's eyes opened suddenly, but he kept working, loosening its legs and wings. He reached for another rope, but at that moment, the dragon pulled itself free, jumping atop him and slamming him into a boulder.

It panted and growled, large green and yellow eyes staring him down, pupils contracted to slits. Hiccup gasped, trying to get away, but there was no where to go. He was trapped.

The Night Fury reared back its head, and a glow started in the back of his throat. Hiccup flinched, pulling away and waiting for death. Funny how just a few seconds had completely reversed the situation, and he was at the dragon's total mercy.

Then it roared, a sound that blasted through his ears, sending them ringing. But instead of killing him, the dragon pulled away, and flew off, crashing into more than one tree on the way. Putting a hand to his chest where his heart was beating so hard it hurt with every palpitation, Hiccup pushed himself to his feet.

He made it all of two steps before the shock hit him, causing his legs to give out beneath him as he passed out.

~o~O~o~

When Hiccup finally awoke, the sun was beginning to set. How long had he been out? Was anyone looking for him?

Had his encounter with the Night Fury actually happened?

No, that was real alright. The broken bola lay on the ground where the dragon had lay, and the broken trees around him testified to the truth. A shudder went through him as he remembered how close he had been to death.

Sighing, he picked up his knife, tucking it safely back into his belt before setting off towards the village. By the time he reached his front door, the sun had slipped behind the horizon, and the moon had risen, though it was obscured by clouds.

Hiccup opened the door quietly. Maybe his father was already asleep, and he could get to his room unnoticed. Unfortunately, his father was sitting in the main room, tending the coals of the fire. As stealthily as he could, Hiccup began ascending the stairs. He had almost made it too when his father stood. "Hiccup."

"Oh, Dad! I uh, have to talk to you."

"I have to speak with you too, son."

Hiccup swallowed hard. How on earth could he tell his father that he had failed? Puffing out his cheeks, he began "I really don't want to fight dragons." However, at that exact moment his father said something, so neither of them had understood the other.

"You first." His father offered.

"N-No, you first." Hiccup folded his arms over his chest.

"Fine. You get your wish." Stoick gestured vaguely with his hand. "Dragon training. You begin in the morning."

Hiccup's eyes went wide. "Oh man, I should have gone first. Because you see, I was thinking, we have a surplus of dragon fighting vikings. But do we have enough..." He racked his brain, trying to think of something, anything. "...Bread making vikings?" Damn it, that was a woman's job! This conversation had gotten off to a great start. "Or small home repair vikings-"

"You'll need this." His father hefted a battle axe into Hiccup's hands, as though he hadn't heard his son's rambling.

Hiccup bit his lip. His father was a blunt person, so perhaps a direct approach was the best course of action. "Dad, I don't want to fight dragons."

He expected his father to be shocked, and to receive beratement. Instead, his father laughed. "Yes you do."

"Rephrase: Dad, I can't kill dragons."

"But you will kill dragons."

Hiccup exhaled, exasperated. Was this his father's idea of a motivational speech? "I'm really quite sure that I won't!"

Stoick shook his head. "Hiccup, when you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us-" Here he pulled Hiccup up so that he was standing up straight, "You talk like us-" He lifted the axe up, "You think like us. Now, do we have a deal?"

Hiccup's mouth fell open. "You know, this conversation feels very one-sided." _As usual_.

"Deal?" Stoick's voice rose warningly.

His shoulders sagging with defeat, Hiccup muttered "Deal."

"Good." His father hefted the pack on his back. "Train hard...I'll be back. Probably." He nodded with finality, and pushed open the door.

"And I'll be here." Hiccup said miserably. "Maybe."

Leaning the axe against the staircase, he ambled upstairs to his room. In the dark, he went to the bowl of water on his desk, washing his face and hands before collapsing into bed, though he didn't sleep. He merely stared at the ceiling, thinking.

Hiccup couldn't shake the memory of gazing down at that dragon. Something in its expression had caused him to doubt himself. The fear of dying. The terror in his eyes.

But the dragon was gone now. He shouldn't worry about it.

Hiccup rolled over, adjusting his pillow to try and get to sleep.

It took a long time.

 **Historical Note: I'm not super picky about history, although if something is completely outlandish it bothers me. But the thing with Hiccup washing his face and hands-the old Vikings were actually pretty hygenic! Anyway, 'til next. Ta!**


	2. Always, Always

**Salutations**

 **I'm not sure how frequently I'll be able to update, but I will try to as consistently as possible.**

 **I'm aware that I am essentially transcribing the movie right now. The canon-divergence doesn't happen until the 'See You Tomorrow' scene, though, so until then, transcribing it will be.**

 **Another note, just something I thought was interesting. In studying Hiccup's behavior for this fanfiction, I noticed that he is considerably less sarcastic when he is with people he loves and trusts. However, as soon as he is insulted, it turns on like a switch, and he becomes arrogant and sarcastic. I realized-it's a defense mechanism. It' s common enough. But if you watch him, you will notice that he really is not a very sardonic person in nature, it's only when he feels threatened.**

 **Also, his FvsF instinct is flight.**

 **Anyways...**

Chapter Two

Always, always

Hiccup awoke the next morning to a fusillade of pounding at the front door. Groaning, he pushed back his blankets and sleepily made his way downstairs. When he opened the door, he was greeted by Gobber, Berk's blacksmith and resident teacher of Dragon training.

"You're late." He said gruffly.

Hiccup ran a hand through his messy auburn hair. "Sorry."

"I don't want your apologies, I want you ready for Dragon Training. Now get a move on!" Gobber shook his head, muttering about his job as he walked away.

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup pulled on his vest and hefted the axe his father had given him the night before. Speaking of his father, it was a nice change, being able to wake up without all of the disappointed stares and heavy sighing that usually accompanied the dawning hours.

He combed his fingers through his hair, deeming that good enough before setting off towards the arena. The sky was gray and dim as the sun rose, though the clouds obscured much of the light.

When he arrived, all of the other teenagers-Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins-were waiting. Snotlout sneered. "Well look at that, you finally decided to show up."

"Good morning to you as well." Hiccup replied sarcastically, almost unconsciously. It was habit, a reflex. As soon as the insults started, he had to defend himself somehow.

Gobber, ignoring them, opened the gate into the arena. The other teens stepped inside eagerly, bubbling over with excitement, while Hiccup stuck to the shadows in the back. He felt most comfortable there, and besides, that was where everyone seemed to want him.

"I hope I get some serious burns." Tuffnut said.

His sister smiled. "I'm hoping for some mauling, like maybe shoulder or lower back."

Sighing heavily, Astrid remarked "Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

"No kidding right?" Hiccup mumbled. "Pain. Love it."

Ruffnut scowled. "Ugh, who let him in?"

Gobber clapped a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Don't worry. You're small, weak, that'll make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick, or insane, and go after the more Viking-like teens instead." He chuckled as he stepped to the front of the group.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, unsure of how that was supposed to make him feel better. Couldn't they see he wasn't scared? He was only being cautious, being smart. That's how the dragons were, and they had survived long enough.

"Alright, let's get started!" Gobber shouted, calling them all to attention. "The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."

"Uh, Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him?" Snotlout asked, and when the others began laughing, grinned like a hero returning home from a quest.

 _I shot it down, you arrogant bastard. I just was more merciful than you could ever be._ Or at least, that's what Hiccup was telling himself.  
Gobber ignored them. "Behind these doors lay some of the dragons you will learn to fight. The Hideous Zippleback-" He walked down the row of doors in the arena, saying the name of a species of dragon as he gestured to each. "-the Deadly Nadder...the Terrible Terror-"

The boy next to Hiccup, Fishlegs, was muttering some sort of statistic as Gobber said the name of each dragon. Speed? Armor? What the hell was this kid on about?

Gobber seemed to have had enough as well, as when Fishlegs announced "Attack 8, Venom 12!" to the Monstrous Nightmare, the blacksmith roared "Would you stop that?!"

Rolling his eyes, he stopped at the final door. "And, the Gronckle."

"Jaw Strength 8." Fishlegs murmured to Hiccup. As if he cared.

Gobber put his hand on the lever to open the door, and Snotlout started forward. "Wait, aren't you going to teach us first?"

"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber said, and with that, released the dragon onto the unsuspecting group. Startled cries rang out as the Gronckle burst through the door, with its meaty body and buzzing wings, which would have been comical had the beast not been so dangerous.

"Today's lesson is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead." Hiccup glanced at Gobber. _You think?_ "Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"

"A doctor?" Hiccup shouted.

"Plus 5 speed?"

"A shield." Supplied Astrid confidently, who was the only one of the six who had managed to keep her head.

"Yes. If you have the choice between a sword, or a shield, take the shield." Gobber sat casually watching them, as though he hadn't put their lives in immediate danger. Everyone swerved towards the pile of shields in the arena, the twins immediately bickering about it. Hiccup, naturally, could hardly lift the thing, and opted to put down his axe so that he could carry it.

"Shields are good for another thing-noise. Make lots of it, to throw off a dragon's aim!"

Those still left began banging their weapons against the metal part of the shield, and sure enough, the Gronckle shook its head, confused, giving Hiccup the time to dodge away.

"Now, every dragon has a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?"

"Five?" Snotlout tried.

"No, no, six!" Fishlegs shouted triumphantly.

"Correct! That's one for each of you!" At that moment, the Gronckle sent a blast of fire Fishlegs' way, blasting the shield out of his hand, and Gobber announced "Fishlegs, out."

Hiccup had holed up behind a stack of wood. Perhaps not the most Viking-esque approach, but definitely counting for the staying-alive-esque option considering that a few moments before the Gronckle had shot a bolt at him. However, when he saw his chance, he stood up again, just as Snotlout was called out. Since the twins were the first to be disqualified, he said to Astrid "Well, I guess it's just you and me then."

"Nope, just you." She said, and rolled out of the way as the Gronckle aimed a blast of fire at Hiccup, knocking his shield out of his hands.

"One shot left!" Gobber informed them.

Hiccup began chasing after his shield, which had begun rolling away, but when he turned, found himself face-to-face with the dragon, backed against the wall.

He had a momentary flashback to the day before, when he had been slammed against the rock by the Night Fury, the dragon glaring down at him with vindication in its eyes. Although here, the Gronckle seemed to have no hesitation about killing him.

The world slowed. He vaguely heard his name being called warningly as he shrank away, as if that would do him some good. The dragon reared back, preparing to fire, and for the second time in a day, he said a final farewell to his life. Not that it mattered to anyone anyway.

"That's six." Hiccup opened his eyes to see that the dragon had fired into the wall, as Gobber had pulled its mouth up at the last second. The other teenagers were standing around, watching their teacher as he pulled the Grockle back to its cage.

Hiccup tried to contain the shaking that had started, hoping that no one was paying any attention to him. No such luck-Astrid had kept a keen eye on him during the entire thing, though she didn't make any comments.

"Remember," Gobber said, kneeling down in front of Hiccup. "A dragon will always, _always_ go for the kill."

 **~o~O~o~**

 _Always, always_. Gobber's voice rang in his mind as Hiccup walked through the woods, tracing his path down to Raven Point where he had first found the Night Fury. He probably should have left it alone-hadn't he risked death enough already dealing with this whole dragon business. Yet he was drawn to the dragon, and Gobber's warning had only served to intensify his curiosity, so after eating a bit had set off.

"A dragon always goes for the kill." He murmured aloud, picking up the bola which was still lying discarded on the ground. "So why didn't you?"

His eyes wandered off in the direction that the dragon had flown. Surely it had flown off by now, but...it was worth checking. Following the path of broken trees and scraped ground, Hiccup arrived at a cove. It wasn't unfamiliar to him. He explored too much for anything to really be 'exploration' on Berk anymore. But there was not a sign of the dragon.

"Well this was stupid." He muttered. Just as he was about to turn to go back however, he noticed something black and gleaming on the rocks at his feet. Frowning and furrowing his brow, he knelt to pick it up. It looked like...scales?  
With a screech, a large, black form shot up, scrabbling over the rocks to try and find purchase, though the sides were too steep. With another angry, cry, the dragon landed back on the ground. Hiccup's eyes widened. Odin's beard! He had found the dragon. Fumbling for his notebook and pencil, he quickly began to sketch the shape of the dragon. How lucky had he been, finding the thing.

"Why don't you just...fly away?" He added the second tailfin, then frowned, rubbing it away, as the Night Fury had only one.

The pencil dropped out of his hands, clattering to the rocks below, and Hiccup froze. Stiffening, the dragon looked back at him. Surprisingly, instead of attacking, it tilted its head to the side, examining him.

Hiccup wasn't going to wait to see the dragon's reaction. He stumbled back into the woods, smiling to himself. He had found the dragon. Maybe he would show the drawing to everyone, get them to come to the cove. They would stop teasing him, and he would finally have some respect-Hiccup Haddock, the one who shot down the dragon of nightmares.

But as soon as he thought it, he cast the fantasy aside. If he couldn't kill the dragon, wouldn't kill it, what was the difference in having others do it? No, he had to keep it a secret from the other Vikings. Even if it meant he had to endure more scorn.

 **~o~O~o~**

On the way back, it started to rain. "Welcome to Berk." He said aloud, trudging through the mud. "Where it snows nine months of the year and rains the other three."

When he finally made it back to the great hall for a meal, he was sopping wet, and not looking forward to dealing with his peers at all. He pushed open the door, and found the hall mostly empty, save for the Dragon Trainees seated at a table, going over the day.

"-Threw off my reverse tumble," Astrid was saying. "It was sloppy."

"No, no, no, it was great." Snotlout, always the suck-up, said. "It was so...Astrid."

Hiccup scoffed. Even he wasn't as desperate as Snotlout. Of course, he wasn't popular like his cousin, and so had essentially given up on ever trying to flirt with Astrid.

"She's right." Gobber chided gently, waving him over to the group. "You have to be tough on yourself. Now where did Hiccup go wrong?"

It was an honest question, if they were critiquing themselves. But he flinched, knowing it would turn into something more than constructive criticism.

"Uh, he showed up." Ruffnut offered.

"He's never where he should be." Astrid glared at him as he took his plate of food and moved to a separate table. There was no place for him with the other fifteen-year-olds.

"Thank you, Astrid." Gobber replied. Hiccup, for the most part, ignored them all, at least until Gobber pulled out a book. "The Dragon Manual." He said, pushing aside the plates and slamming the tome onto the table. "Everything we know about every dragon we know of. Enjoy." Gobber stood up, and began walking out.

"Wait, you mean read?" Tuffnut, who had been playing with his knife, dropped it onto the table.

"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut groaned.

"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about." Snotlout added, and Hiccup had to resist the urge to remark on how eloquently stated the comment was.

"Oh, oh, I've read it like, seven times." Fishlegs said. "There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face, and there's this other one-"

The teens were unimpressed. "Yeah, well, I was going to read it..."

"But now..." Ruffnut finished for her brother.

"You guys read, I'll go kill stuff." Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins all stood up and headed out.

"So, I guess we'll share then?" Hiccup said, hoping his voice wasn't too hopeful as he looked at Astrid. She shoved the book in his direction.

"Read it." And she walked out as well.

"Oh all mine then." He tried not to sound too disappointed. "Well, I guess I'll see you all...tomorrow." The door slammed shut, and he sighed. So much for that.

Retrieving a candle to read by when the braziers in the hall were extinguished, Hiccup sat down to read the Manual. It was still storming outside as he began.

Surprisingly, the book was fairly informative. Dragons Hiccup had never heard of were drawn in intricate detail on the pages, information about where they lived, what their method of attack was, but when it came to how they should be dealt with, all the book ever said was 'extremely dangerous, kill on sight.'

Very helpful for trying to sneak up on a dragon.

He was just about to give up and call it a night when the book fell open to a page that, unlike the others, was nearly empty except for a few words at the bottom.

"Night Fury." He read. "Speed: Unknown. Size: Unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only hope...hide and pray it does not find you."

 _Always, always._

And yet...Hiccup pulled his notebook out, turning to the drawing of the Night Fury, and placing it atop the book, and what little information he had. Proof that it was possible to encounter the dragon and survive.

And as the thunder raged outside, he began forming a plan.


	3. More Than A Miracle

**Salutations.**

 **Two in a day-I'm impressed with myself.**

 **There's only one more chapter of simply reading what the movie showed. I am actually really enjoying writing this, and from my personal experience I assume that you are having fun reading it.**

 **Thanks for the follows/favorites/reviews guys. You're awesome.**

 **Enjoy...**

Chapter Three

More Than A Miracle

"So, I couldn't help but notice that the Manual had nothing on Night Furies...I was wondering is there like...a sequel, or maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet, or-woah!" He dived out of the way as the Deadly Nadder they were training with blew a jet of fire in his direction.

"Focus, Hiccup!" Gobber called. "You're not even trying."

But Hiccup was not to be deterred. He looped through the maze that had been set up in the arena, avoiding the dragon as their teacher informed them "Today, is all about attack. Nadders are quick, and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker, and lighter."

Hiccup heard Fishlegs' cry of alarm. "I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods."

"Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike!"

Hiccup finally emerged next to Gobber again."So...how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?"

Gobber sighed. "No one's ever met one, and lived to tell the tale, now _get in there!_ "

"I know, I know, but...hypothetically." He trailed off as Astrid motioned to him, pointing to the dragon that was too close for comfort. Nodding, Hiccup knelt down next to Astrid and Snotlout, who expertly rolled across the passageway where the dragon was lurking. However, when Hiccup attempted the maneuver, he didn't have enough momentum, and the weight of his shield stopped the somersault.

And attracted the attention of the Nadder.

The dragon leapt up to the top of the maze, but the temporary walls were unstable, and began to topple over one another. Astrid, like a shield maiden in all her glory, charged over the tops of the falling boards.

"Hiccup!" She shouted, trying to get him to move out of the way as she fell to the ground with the axe and shield. But he couldn't move quickly enough, and pulled his own shield in front of him just as Astrid fell on top of him, her axe slamming into the hardened wood.

"What are you...why don't you..." Hiccup stammered.

"Ooh, love on the battlefield." Tuffnut catcalled, and Astrid shot a glare in his general direction. Then she gasped, noting that the Nadder had climbed out from the wreckage. However, her axe was stuck in Hiccup's shield, and the shield was stuck on his arm.

She yanked on the handle of the axe, pulling on Hiccup's arm, and eliciting a cry of pain. Finally,she pulled it off, slamming it into the Deadly Nadder just as it was about to pounce.

She panted, turning, to Hiccup and saying savagely "Is this some kind of a joke to you? Our parents' war is about to become ours." She pointed the axe, which still had shards of wood stuck to it, at him. "Figure out which side you're on."

~o~O~o ~

After the day's Dragon Training, Hiccup sat in the Great Hall, methodically putting food in his mouth as he stared at the drawing of the Night Fury in his notebook. He had been at war with himself in debating whether to go after the dragon again. On one hand, the rational side, it was suicide. On the other...the dragon hadn't killed him yet. And he wanted to know more. It was a curiosity that simply wouldn't be sated.

Gobber's reply to him in the arena hadn't given him much confidence in the success rate of his plan. Which there wasn't much of. It was, essentially, sneak up on the dragon, and preferably do not die.

He went to take another bite, and found that the plate was empty-he had cleaned his plate while not paying attention, which was a frequent occurrence. With nothing more to fuel his procrastination, he was forced to make a decision.

Hiccup walked out of the hall, intending to go home to think it over more, but he was passed by a group carrying wood shields to the arena. Suddenly, an idea came to him, and approaching the group, he asked if he could have one of the shields.

"What do you want it for?"

"To...practice?" The lie was weak, but still plausible, and scratching his chin, the Viking handed one of the shields to Hiccup.

"Well, you need as much as you can get. Don't hurt yourself." He chuckled, and they all set off once more.

With a shield, he would be relatively safer, though Hiccup wasn't sure how much good it would do against a Night Fury. Though perhaps instead of simply sneaking up on the dragon, he could...calm it somehow. With food?

Nearly fifteen minutes later, Hiccup set off into the woods once more armed with a shield, and a raw fish he had slipped from the kitchens. It was disgusting, but he tried to ignore it as he trekked through the trees. Finally, when he made it to the cove, he took a deep breath to steady his nerves, and climbed down in between the rocks.

Tentatively, he threw the fish out into the clearing. The meat made it all of two feet.

 _Great_. Hiccup was hoping he wouldn't have to go out and expose himself, but now he was left with no other option. He tried to get the shield through the boulders, but the diameter was just barely too wide to fit. Crawling underneath it, he pulled half-heartedly, before abandoning it.

Though the dragon was nowhere to be seen, Hiccup's heart still pounded as he picked up the fish, and made his way deeper into the cove. It would be fine, he kept reassuring himself. The part of his brain not completely taken over by recklessness screamed at him to leave, run. But he pressed forward anyways.

A flicker of movement caught in his peripheral vision, and he turned to see the black dragon cautiously approaching him. He gasped, taking a step backwards at the threatening posture the dragon was taking.

Holding out the fish, Hiccup prayed it wouldn't take his hand off. The dragon tilted its head, and leaned forward for the fish, pupils dilated in a way that made it look quite adorable, considering it was a terrifying beast of legend. Then it growled, pulling back.

Hiccup pulled aside his vest, revealing the small knife in his waistband. The dragon's eyes narrowed, and the growling intensified when he put his hand on the knife. However, when he dropped it onto the ground, the noise ceased. The Night Fury made a gesture with its head towards the lake, and with his foot, Hiccup lifted the knife with his foot-a skill that had taken many a day to perfect-and tossed it into the water.

As soon as he had done so, the dragon sat back on its haunches, pupils widening and ears going up. Then it reached for the fish, and Hiccup noticed something odd.

"Toothless. I could have sworn you had-" At that moment, the Night Fury darted forward, teeth popping out from the gums, and snapping the fish into his mouth. Hiccup snatched his hand away. "-teeth..."

The dragon tossed the fish into the air before swallowing it. Then he turned on Hiccup, sniffing him as though he had some secret store of fish hiding in his vest.

"No, no." Hiccup mumbled, moving backwards. He fell to the ground, the Night Fury still practically on top of him. "I...I don't have any more!" His voice had faded to a whisper.

The dragon regarded him for a moment, then regurgitated half of the fish onto his lap. Hiccup almost threw up. "Uhh..." He stared down at the cod, then up at the dragon, unsure of what it wanted.

The Night Fury made a distinct gesture: eat it. He made an expression of desperation, which was useless, and picked up the slimy, half-digested fish. Trying to sound as though he were delighted, he took one, disgusting, putrid mouthful.

"Mhm!" He assured the dragon, handing out the rest of the fish to it. Instead of taking it, the Night Fury made a swallowing motion. Holding back the bile, Hiccup managed to swallow the raw fish, and shuddered.

The dragon made a strange sound, licking his lips. With a start, Hiccup realized that the dragon was imitating him, and he smiled. The Night Fury looked confused for a moment while studying him, then attempted to pull its mouth back in a gummy smile.

Feeling rather confident, Hiccup reached out a hand to touch the dragon. It snarled, and pulled back, flying away as best it could, as it was impaired for whatever reason. Exhaling fire onto the ground, it curled up, as if to sleep.

Hiccup warily approached the dragon again, reaching out to touch the tail. It lifted up the appendage, pulling an almost human expression of _leave me alone_. Relenting, Hiccup stalked away, disappointed.

It was stupid. Stupid, dumb, dumb to try and touch the dragon, as though it were a pet. He ought to be dead-all logic dictated it so-but he wasn't, and for some reason, that made him all the more belligerent in...what was it? Befriending the dragon?

Picking up a stick, he sat down on a rock and began to draw absentmindedly in the dirt. Scratching out the likeness of the dragon. Suddenly, there was a thud, and he flinched away, realizing that the dragon had come up directly behind him.

Ignoring it, he continued drawing, though out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Night Fury following every move. Then it stood up on two legs, likely mimicking him again, and toddled off. There was a snap, and Hiccup whirled around to see that the dragon had practically uprooted a sapling.

Giving Hiccup a self-satisfied expression, the dragon set the stick to the earth and began to draw, dragging it through the ground on a much larger scale than Hiccup's drawing. It spun around and around, hitting him with the tree more than once. Finally, it cast the tree aside, and studied its work.

Hiccup, trying to make out some sort of pattern, began walking out of the middle of the drawing, but he had scarcely taken a step when the dragon began growling. He stumbled back, not wanting to anger it, until he realized that he had accidentally stepped on the grooves in the dirt. Giving the dragon a strange look, Hiccup put his foot back onto the line. The dragon growled warningly, but stopped when he removed his foot.

He tried again, and this time, its ears went back threateningly. He pulled his foot back, and this time stepped over the drawing, eliciting no response from the dragon. Hiccup smiled, having figured out the trick, and began to step out of the drawing, almost dancing as he did so, back, side, spinning. It somehow relieved a great deal of his tension, winding his way through the dragon's drawing.

Then he stopped. Breathing from behind him came, soft and steady. Hiccup turned, seeing the Night Fury mere inches from him, although it did not seem to mind. Gazing into its eyes, he thought he saw a sort of empathy there, and reached out his hand to touch it. The dragon shied away, growling softly.

Why would the dragon let him touch it? Was it so far removed he would never be able to break the barrier?

Biting his lip, Hiccup looked away, and reached out his hand, completely at the dragon's mercy now. It could kill him if it-he-wanted to. But he hadn't attempted to so far, so why should the dragon do so now?

Then scales touched his hand. He gasped softly, not daring to look up, yet somehow doing it anyway, at the large eyes so filled with trust and empathy. There was something so wonderful in the expression, so fresh and startling, and fitting all at the same time.

It felt like...home.

Then the dragon snorted and flew away.

Hiccup stared at the hand that had touched the Night Fury. It was a miracle he was alive. A miracle that he had managed to get so close to the dragon at all.

Yet as he gave the dragon and cove one final glance, and set off under the setting sun once more, Hiccup knew that what had happened in that cove was more than a miracle.

It was the start of friendship, forbidden as it may be.


	4. Downed and Dead

**Salutations**

 **In the next chapter the canon-divergence begins, so just hang in there through one more chapter. Thanks for the support all. :)**

Chapter Four

Downed and Dead

"...And with one twist, he took my hand, and swallowed it whole!" As if to emphasize the point, Gobber gestured with his hook. "I saw the look on his face. I was delicious. Word must have gotten around, because it wasn't long before another one of them took my leg."

The other teens were in various stages of attentiveness, ranging from Fishlegs, who was completely devoted to every word that their teacher said, to Hiccup, who was gazing down at his half-eaten meal, completely ignoring the rest of the group.

"I'm so angry right now." Snotlout growled. "I'll avenge your beautiful hand, and your beautiful foot. I'll rip off the legs of every dragon I fight. With my _face_."  
Astrid scoffed, and even Hiccup, who was preoccupied with the question of why the Night Fury wasn't able to fly, rolled his eyes in irritation at his cousin's bravado.

"No, no" Gobber said around a particularly large amount of chicken. "It's the wings and the tails that you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon."

Hiccup's head shot up. He had been barely paying attention, but the blacksmith's words sparked something in his mind. A drawing he had done a few days ago, an oddity he didn't understand but had taken for granted anyway.

Pushing his plate aside, he stood up as they all continued on discussing who would be the one to win dragon training. Tuffnut boldly proclaiming himself as the 'chosen' one. But their conversation faded away as Hiccup descended the staircase from the watchtower where the Dragon Training recruits were enjoying a meal together.

He finally might have a way to help the dragon.

 **~o~O~o~**

As soon as he got back to the forge, he went into the small back room that he called his own, and pulled out his notebook. Picking up one of the charcoal pencils lying around, he quickly sketched in a second tailfin, so that the dragon was indeed symmetrical.

Somehow the Night Fury- which he would need to come up with a name for-had lost its tailfin, perhaps in the crash following being shot down. In any case, Hiccup was determined to reverse any damage.

In his mind's eye he could see what he needed to make, all of the bolts and rods required to make an artificial tail, and though it was difficult not having any way to take exact measurements, he figured that he could estimate it well enough. What he lacked in size and strength, he made up for in sheer intelligence along with a near perfect memory.

It was hard work-doing anything in the forge was hot, sweaty, tedious work. But he owed it to the dragon, whom he had decided to call Toothless. It wasn't exactly a misnomer.

Finally, around four in the morning, he was finished. Hiccup folded the leather prosthetic, and stopped by the kitchen to get some fish before heading off to the cove. It was rather exhausting, walking the hour or so to the cove every day, but it gave him an excuse not to hang around the village, and besides, he enjoyed the outdoors. Not to mention the Night Fury in and of itself.

He surveyed the area from the rocks overlooking the cove. Toothless was laying despondently on the ground. If a dragon could look depressed, and Hiccup had no doubt that they could, Toothless certainly was expressing it.

Climbing down the rocks, he called out "Oh Toothless!" The dragon immediately perked up, and smelling fish, wandered over to him. Hiccup kicked over the basket of fish, and the contents spilled out in a wet, sticky heap.

"That's disgusting." Toothless payed no heed to his remarks and lunged for the fish. "There's some Salmon, some nice Icelandic Cod...even a whole smoked eel!" Upon hearing the latter, Toothless hissed and pulled away from the basket, looking as though he might send the whole thing up in flames.

"No, no, no! It's okay!" Hiccup grabbed the eel, forcing down his nausea. As soon as he threw it into the water, Toothless relaxed visibly. "Yeah, I don't like eel much either." After the scare with the eel, Toothless settled down to eat, and ravenously began gulping down fish. It made sense, considering that the dragon had been without food for several days.

While Toothless was distracted, Hiccup slipped behind, carrying with him the prosthetic. He lay it next to the black tail, and tried to strap it on, but Toothless kept moving. "Would you...stop it! Gah!" He fell forward as Toothless poked his head into the now-empty basket of fish. _Odin's beard that dragon must have been starving_.

Well, hopefully that would be fixed soon. He tugged the straps tighter, trying to make sure that it was secure, and then sat back to survey his work. "Well, it's not bad, it works." He mused. Just as he was about to climb off, however, Toothless launched into the sky.

He screamed as the ground fell away, then came racing back. He immediately saw the problem-the prosthetic wouldn't stay open by itself. In a desperate attempt to survive, he pulled the tailfin out so that it would catch the air. It worked, almost too well, and they went shooting off into the sky. A thrill raced through him. "Yes! It's working!"

Toothless suddenly seemed to have realized that there was a human passenger aboard, and sharply flicked his tail so that Hiccup fell off into the lake below. But as soon as he did so, the tailfin closed, became ineffective, and Toothless crashed into the water as well. Despite the failure, Hiccup punched the air with his fist. "Yeah!"

 **~o~O~o~**

"A wet dragon can't breathe fire. But the Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky!" Gobber warned. Hiccup suppressed a yawn. "One head sprays gas, the other lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

The recruits were in pairs, each holding a bucket of water, and lost from each other's sight in the thick green gas. At any moment, the second dragon head could light it up, and they would all be blown to high Valhalla. It didn't seem like very effective teaching, but none of them had been seriously injured. Yet.

"..which injects venom for predigestion, before its primary attack, which-" Fishlegs had started rambling, quoting the Dragon Manual in an attempt to cope with his anxiety.

"Would you be quiet?" Hiccup hissed. Cries and bickering came from the other students, Ruffnut and Tuffnut fighting, Snotlout and Astrid. Then a head of the Zippleback appeared from the fog. Fishlegs panicked and drenched it with his bucket of water.

It leaked gas from its mouth.

"Oh." He gave a nervous chuckle. "Wrong head." The Zippleback churred in something like laughter before shooting another jet of gas at Fishlegs. He ran off screaming.

The second head finally made an appearance. "Now Hiccup!" Gobber called. He gave a weak attempt at splashing his single remaining bucket at the head. It fell about two feet short of its desired destination, and he swore under his breath. The Zippleback head lunged at him, but Hiccup stood his ground. The dragon suddenly lurched backwards, shrieking and hissing.

Putting on a facade as though he were scaring the dragon into submission. "Back. Back! That's right, get back into your cage." He smiled to himself, pulling an eel he had slipped from the kitchens on his way to Training. "Now think about what you've done." Throwing the eel into the cage, Hiccup then pushed the doors of the Zippleback's cage closed, and dusted off his hands.

When he turned around, the arena was silent.

"Okay, so are we done now? Because I have some stuff I need to get to...yup, see you tomorrow."

The look of shock on the other Vikings' faces was absolutely priceless.

 **~o~O~o~**

As soon as he had escaped the arena, Hiccup went straight back to the forge. Even though Toothless' tailfin wouldn't stay open on its own, he had an idea or two about what he could do. And with growing excitement, he set to making a saddle-the only way he knew how to work the tailfin was if he was riding the dragon.

The saddle wasn't terribly difficult to make. It was a bit time consuming, but when he was done, he held it up proudly to the light to admire his work.

Gobber had wandered in at some point and began to study Hiccup and his project. "One might begin to wonder what in Thor's name you were doing."

"Well, good thing I'm off then." Hiccup mimed tipping a hat to the blacksmith before bundling up the saddle in his arms.

"Just don't get yourself into any trouble."

"Trouble?" Hiccup chuckled. "Never."

He stopped by the kitchens to get yet another round of fish for Toothless-they were going to start wondering who was eating so much lately if that kept up-then headed down to the cove. When Toothless saw him, he started running around in circles excitedly.

"I've got a surprise for you today," Hiccup promised, after emptying the contents of the fish basket. When the dragon had eaten its fill for the second time, Hiccup held up the saddle, not sure if the dragon understood what he wanted.

Toothless did. And clearly did not agree, as he took off running.

"Hey, get back here!"

It took the better part of the evening to get the saddle onto Toothless, and by the time he was done, Hiccup was exhausted and covered with grass stains and dirt. However, the success had opened a new reserve of energy, and he climbed onto the dragon's back. He had attached a rope to the end of the tailfin, thinking that perhaps he could hold it open as he flew.

Toothless shivered softly, then took off into the air. Hiccup's idea worked well for a few seconds, but when he pulled it a bit too hard, something snapped and Toothless went flying one way. He went the other, falling into the lake again.

"Well that didn't work." He muttered while pulling himself out of the water.

Toothless gave a derisive snort, as if to say _Damn right, it didn't work._

"I'm not going to give up though." Hiccup said stubbornly. "We'll make this work somehow."  
Rolling his eyes, Toothless sauntered away, leaving Hiccup to come up with a plan on his own.

 **~o~O~o~**

The next few days were a blur of working in the forge all night, visiting Toothless in the mornings and afternoons, with only the brief respite of Dragon Training, which wasn't really a respite at all. Although one perk of spending more time with Toothless was that he was learning more and more things about dragons.

Over his hours of work, Hiccup had managed to rig up a contraption that would fit over Toothless' leg, and connected to the tailfin, which was controlled by a stirrup. He had also made himself a harness to keep from falling off. That had come around when the two had tried flying, crashed, and Hiccup had gotten thrown several feet.

Beyond his technical innovations, Hiccup had also discovered that dragons loved a particular type of grass, would chase lights and reflections, and if they were scratched in a certain spot under their chin would essentially pass out. All very helpful in the way of dragon training.

His popularity had greatly increased as well. No longer did he sit alone at mealtimes. The second he sat down there was a crowd around him, asking him questions, if he wanted to hang out some time, perhaps teach some of his tricks. It was extremely uncomfortable-he was used to being alone, as well as the fact that every time Astrid saw him now, it was with poisonous looks that seemed as though she were planning the best way to kill him in his sleep. His sudden burst of fame had also made it more difficult to get away to go to the cove, and Hiccup lied all the time about where he was, where he was going.

He had always assumed that having everyone love him would be wonderful. But there was something off about the crowd that rallied around him. Perhaps it was the fact that they only cared about him since he had shown 'proficiency'. They weren't his real friends. Not like Toothless. With the dragon, he always felt comfortable, in the Night Fury, he found comfort.

In Toothless, he had a friend.


	5. As Hell Rises

**Salutations!**

 **Sorry for the hiatus. I have many viable excuses, but suffice it to say I had extreme Writer's Block.**

 **Canon-Divergence. Yay!**

 **Also, mild violence warning. Nothing graphic. Just...implication.**

 **Thanks for sticking through the long wait!**

 **-WMStudios**

Chapter Five

As Hell Rises

Astrid screamed, hurling her axe at another tree. It wasn't fair, that stupid Hiccup being so good at Dragon Training. Not when she had practiced every day for her whole life. Hell, he couldn't lift an axe and a shield at the same time, so what business did he have fighting dragons?

It was more than just irritation at having lost her position as the shoo-in for the competition. It was that of all people the scrawny, unpopular one had taken over her spot. Only Snotlout ever really paid her any attention these days, and that wasn't attention she was eager to receive.

And yet, the most frustrating part of all of this was that an small, infinitesimal, almost nonexistent part of her _liked_ him. Odin help her, but there was sort of attractiveness about him. He was certainly far more intelligent than any of the other boys her age, or any man at all she had ever met. Not to mention that he was technically the heir to the throne of Berk. Though...knowing how things had been going, chieftainship would likely go to someone else.

Growling under her breath, Astrid yanked her axe out of the tree, and turned to throw it again. And came face to face with Hiccup Haddock.

His eyes went wide. He was holding some sort of bundle in his hands, but she couldn't tell what it was supposed to be. Another one of his crazy projects? Was this where he was disappearing to every afternoon?

Without saying a word, Hiccup awkwardly turned and began walking down a small path. He moved quickly, as though he didn't want anyone to know where he was going. Astrid slid around a boulder, and caught sight of him just as he vanished into a copse of trees. Silently, she followed him down the path. Where was he going? There wasn't anything out this way as far as Astrid knew.

Then she lost sight of him. Confused, she spun around, trying to find any glimpse of his green shirt and auburn hair, but there was no sign of Hiccup anywhere. Just as she was about to turn back and call it a failure, she heard his voice.

"Hey Toothless! Are you ready to go? We've got a big day ahead of us."

 _Toothless? What the..._

Following the sound, Astrid made her way to a cove ringed by large rocks. She had been here before, had played here as a child. What on earth was Hiccup doing here?

She peeked over the rocks, seeking for answers in any form. When she received them, her eyes went wide, and her breath hitched in her chest. Torn between running away or sliding down into the cove to fight, she was frozen, paralyzed with fear at the monster before Hiccup. She had to do _something_. Even if she didn't particularly like Hiccup, there would be repercussions for abandoning the chiefs son. But how could she face down the Night Fury bearing down upon Hiccup.

The dragon pounced, and she started forward, but stopped.

Hiccup wasn't screaming. Hadn't even tried to run. And in fact, looking more closely, the Night Fury was not attacking. Far from it.

No, Hiccup was _playing_ with the dragon, in the friendly way that only comes from a deep-set relationship. Solidifying her theory was that as soon as Hiccup had extricated himself from underneath the dragon, he swung himself up onto a saddle that had been on the dragon's back.

It was completely contrary to everything she had ever known.

That boy should be dead.

Yet here he was, _riding_ the beast that should have had him running for high Valhalla.

They took of for Odin-knows-where, leaving Astrid still crouched and hidden, though as soon as they left, she stumbled back from her spot. She nearly dropped her axe. She had to tell someone, but who would believe her? They would all think she was crazy.

That didn't matter. Her feet were already pounding against the forest floor, heading back towards the village.

 **~o~O~o~**

"Gobber!" She yelled, trying to conceal her panting from running so hard. "Gobber!"

"Astrid?" The blacksmith peeked out from the forge. "What're you doin' here?"

"Gobber," She doubled over, hands on her knees. "Gobber, it was Hiccup, there was a Night Fury, and he-"

He dropped the axe he had been working on. "A Night Fury? Astrid, are you sure?"

She could only nod, swallowing hard.

Gobber;s voice choked up a little. "He's dead?"

Astrid looked up, confused until she realized what her panicked confession must have sounded like. Violently shaking her head, she replied, "No, he's not dead, he...Gobber, he was riding the dragon, playing with it, like it was tame. It didn't hurt him at all!"

" _What?"_

"I followed him down, to the cove, just off Raven Point, you know? I...I didn't know what to do..."

"Are you absolutely sure, Astrid?"

She gave him a hard look. "Would I be telling you if I didn't think that I know what I saw?"

"Good point. Do you know where he went?" Gobber asked, picking the axe up from off the floor.

"No, but he was keeping the dragon in the cove."

Gobber nodded. "Well, thank you, Astrid. I'll get some people toether, try to get this mess sorted out." She could tell that he was straining to stay calm. Giving her an affectionate pat, he continued with a forced tone of lightness, "You've had quite a nasty shock there. You ought to get home and rest, I reckon."

She nodded, and a sudden wave of numbness swept over her. The events of the last hour flashed in disjointed images through her head, and she shook it sharply.

"Yeah, I...should..."

Stumbling slightly, she managed to make it back to the Hofferson home, and barely made it to her bed before collapsing from her legs giving out beneath her.

~o~O~o~

"Aw, come on." Hiccup said, tugging on the rope he had used to secure himself to Toothless while testing out the tailfin positions. He wanted to do the official test drive of the prosthetic tomorrow, and wanted to make sure that everything would go off without a hitch.

It seemed to work fine. However, when the wind had snapped the tether that had been keeping them in place, it bent the hook on the saddle. There was no way to get the rope off now. He had no other choice but to go back to the village and find something to cut the cord with. It wasn't just rope-it was seasoned leather that would withstand a lot more than some twisted string could.

It was much faster getting to the village than usual, considering that he was riding Toothless. They weren't flying-Hiccup didn't want to damage anything else-but they were running, and it was certainly faster than walking. Under the cover of night, they slipped into the forge. Hiccup found a knife, and began sawing at the cord. Finally, it snapped, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright Toothless, let's go." He gave Toothless' collar a tug to guide him out of the forge. They had to get out quickly before anyone noticed them.

"Well, now, I thought I was going to have to track you down!" Hiccup froze, and turned to see Erik and Aksel, two of the Vikings he did his best to avoid, along with an entourage.

Backing away slowly, Hiccup raised an arm in front of Toothless. "No."

"It's funny, really. None of us believed you when you said that you had shot down a Night Fury. Yet here we are." He chuckled. "Shame you turned traitor on us."

Hiccup took a hasty step backwards as Erik approached him. He felt frozen, and numb. This was beyond his worst nightmares. He had finally made a friend, finally found peace, and here it was about to be taken away from him.

Toothless opened his mouth to shoot a blast of plasma, and everything slowed. Two of the Vikings jumped atop the dragon, slamming Toothless to the ground, while Erik grabbed Hiccup's arm, pulling him away.

"It was very clever of you to lure the dragon here for us to kill." Aksel said, and Erik chuckled as Hiccup struggled to escape his grasp.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted. "No, stop!" But his attempts at freedom were futile, and once again he cursed the fact that he was not born as strong as everyone else.  
Erik yanked him backwards. "You'd best be getting home, boy."

Toothless let out a muffled wail as the Vikings on top of him bound him with a leather muzzle and cords. His green eyes were wide with fear.

Hiccup set his jaw, and tried to kick Erik, hit him, do anything to get to Toothless, to keep these men from hurting him. Erik shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I would get home. You don't want to be here. Wouldn't want to make me angry, would you?"

"Go to hell," Hiccup spat, giving one final pull towards Toothless, straining with all his might and trying to pry the hand off his wrist.

Erik raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Then with no semblance of hesitation, he turned and slapped Hiccup hard across the temples. Light exploded in his vision, and while he tried to shake off the pain, a blow to his stomach drove the air from his lungs.

As he struggled to breathe, the world fading in and out of his vision, Erik began dragging him off before dumping him unceremoniously onto the grass. "Go home."

Hiccup pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, blinking away the dizziness.

Toothless.

They were going to hurt Toothless.

But he barely could stand, much less fight. The Vikings dragged Toothless away, his writhing body looking suddenly very pathetic. Hiccup took one stumbling step forward, but hesitated as a wave of nbausea crashed over him, mingling with an overpowering sense of despair.

"Toothless..." He murmured.

He had to save his friend.

A flare of anger and adrenalin burst to life inside of him. How _dare_ they? Setting his jaw,Hiccup determinedly went after the others.

~o~O~o~

They had taken Toothless to the arena.

The thought of what those men might do to him made Hiccup feel slightly faint, though that could have just been from the blow to his head. As quietly as he could, he made his way to the arena door. He had to get Toothless out, they had to leave.

A hand clamped down on his shoulder. "And just where do you think you're going?"

Hiccup whirled around to see Erik glaring down at him. "You're just not going to leave this alone, are you, kid?" His face contorted into a grimace of a smile. "Well, you might as well come along."

~o~O~o~

Hiccup's hands were bound behind his back, and he was thrown against a wall of the arena. The breath was knocked out of him as he hit the dirt, and his eyes began to water. When he finally looked up again, Toohless was being tied down near the center of the arena where he thrashed uselessly against the ropes.

Erik, and another Viking Hiccup had heard being called Aksel pulled a large rack of weapons closer to Toothless. Hiccup scrambled to try to get to his feet. "No, no, p-please, you can't kill him!"

Aksel chuckled. "Who said anything about killing the dragon?" Selecting a long knife from the wooden board, he contemplated a moment before handing it to Erik.

As the realization dawned on Hiccup's face, Erik plunged the knife into Toothless' body. The Night Fury gave a muffled shriek of pain, and Hiccup ran towards the three. "No! Please, no, don't hurt Toothless, you-" A piece of fabric was whipped around his mouth by one of the other Vikings, and soon his ankles were bound as well. He was helpless to do anything but watch in abject horror as the men tortured Toothless.

Hiccup's vision blurred with hot tears, but it did nothing to block out the awful sounds coming from his friend, or the raucous laughter of Erik and Aksel and the others.

Finally, Toothless' body gave out, and he collapsed, unconscious to the floor of the arena.

"Think that's enough for tonight." Erik murmured, and cast aside the knife he had been holding. The men nodded, laughing, joking, and not a few spared Hiccup a few parting kicks before leaving him, still bound on the dirt. Only when they were gone did Hiccup inch his way over to a discarded weapon, and with a bit of work, cut the ropes free. Ripping the gag from his mouth, he stumbled over to Toothless, who was just regaining consciousness.

Hiccup gave a soft sob. "Oh, bud..." Gently, as not to disturb any of the lacerations, he removed the muzzle and ropes. The ground around him was spattered red with blood, which welled from dozens of deep, thick cuts on Toothless' body. When he ran his fingers over the dragon's flank, Toothless let out a low wail that slowly faded to nothing.

"Gods, oh gods, how could I let this happen?" He was no healer. He knew how to wrap a bandage and treat burns, but nothing to this extent, and for a dragon? All he could do was put his forehead to Toothless' snout and cry. And cry he did, heavy sobs that shook his body almost as much as the Night Fury's body heaving with strained breaths.

He warbled gently, and Hiccup sat up, green eyes misted over. _It's not your fault_ , Toothless seemed to say, his own green eyes wide with compassion.

"I should have done more..." He said, wiping the back of his hand across his eyes. "I could have..."

But what could he have done?

"Here, bud, we can get out." But even as he spoke the words, he knew there was no leaving. Toothless was in no condition to fly. All he could do was wait it out, hoping that maybe they would have another chance to escape.

Hiccup pulled Toothless to his feet, and the dragon followed as best he could, eyes half closing.

"If I can get you home, bud, it'll be alright." Toothless growled weakly in the back of his throat, content to follow Hiccup for as long as he could. However, the two got no further than the grass outside of the arena before Toothless fell to the ground again.

Tugging on him, Hiccup consoled, "We just got to get home, Toothless. Come on, it isn't that far." The words were meaningless. Hiccup knew as well as Toothless that there was no way they could get home. And he was exhausted as well. It was late into the night, and his body screamed at him to rest. Knowing he would regret the decision later, he lay down next to Toothless, who wrapped his wings around him protectively. The heat from the dragon's body was more than enough to keep him warm, and soon, they were both fast asleep.


	6. Lost Hopes

**A little bit faster of an update this time. :)**

 **However, I am attending a camp through Saturday which doesn't allow technology, so no updating until the next Monday. I will write the chapter out longhand though, so it should be up Monday unless I've been mauled by a bear or drowned in the canoe lake or something.**

 **I'm sorry in advance for the angst.**

Enjoy.

Chapter Six

Lost Hopes

Sunlight streamed in through the small window, casting yellow dots over his face. Frowning and furrowing his brow, Hiccup slowly awoke to the wood of his ceiling. Trying to clear the fog of sleep, he immediately began going over a schedule for the day. Dragon training, of course, then stopping off at the forge to grab what he needed. Then he and Toothless would...

Toothless

He sat up with a gasp, the previous night's events flooding back to him. How had he gotten back here? How long had he been asleep? Was Toothless even still alive?

Pushing back the blankets, Hiccup stood on unsteady feet. Using the small dresser next to his bed for support, he regained his balance and silently made his way to the door. Hearing no sound, he continued downstairs warily.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, where the hell do you think you're going?"

He froze, breath catching in his throat. Turning, he saw his father sitting in a chair next to the cold hearth, waiting for him.

It was quiet for a long moment before Stoick said "I should have known. I should have seen the signs."

"D-Dad, I'm sorry, I was going to tell you but-"  
"How long has this been going on? Has everything been a trick? A lie?" He stood up, and Hiccup took a hasty step backwards.

"I-I screwed up, I know. I only found him a week ago, but please, Dad, please be mad at me, take this out on me, just don't...don't hurt Toothless?"

His father grasped his shoulder. "The dragon? That's what you're worried about? Not the people that were almost killed trying to drag you away from that thing?"  
"He was just trying to protect me!" Hiccup's voice rose. "He was just protecting me, he's not dangerous!"

Stoick's hand tightened around his shoulder and he winced at the flash of pain. "They've killed hundreds of us!"

"And we've killed thousands of them." Stoick huffed, pushing him away. "T-Toothless didn't hurt me, he could have killed me, but he didn't. Have you ever once considered the thought that maybe we've been wrong this whole time?"

A new fury sparked to life in Stoick's eyes. "Aye. I considered it once. She almost had me convinced. But then it attacked us, and killed your mother, and ever since then, I've known. Known that dragons are Hel's own fiends and only care for killing." He set his jaw. "And I'll rip apart every dragon I come across, starting with that Night Fury."

Hiccup's eyes went wide. "No, Dad, no!" He reached for his father's arm. "For once in your life would you please just listen to me?!"

For a moment, he thought he might. Stoick's face softened infinitesimally, and gazed at his son with an unreadable expression. Then his eyes hardened, and he shook him off. "You've thrown your lot in with them." He opened the door to go outside. "You're not a Viking. You're not my son."

The door slammed shut, leaving Hiccup with that declaration, and silence.

He couldn't breathe for a moment as the reality hit him. Stoick had disowned him, with three words that might as well have killed him. Hiccup had always leaned on being the chief's son for some modicum of protection, and now he no longer had that. No longer had Toothless. No longer had anything.

Gasping, he braced himself against the wall, tears springing to life behind his eyes. Usually he would force them back, but now, he let them flow freely, running down his face and neck and soaking into his tunic. Crying turned into sobbing, a harsh sound that grated against his throat, and he tucked his legs against his chest, burying his face into his knees.

Everything had spiraled out of control so quickly. Grounded, so near to flight, literally.

Now Toothless was dead or dying. He had lost his family, no matter how badly they had treated him, and the scorn was only sure to get worse. For a moment, he seriously considered running to the cliffs and throwing himself off into the ocean, but the thought was instantly banished. He couldn't kill himself. Not while there was still a chance.

But what was there to be done?

~o~O~o~

The great hall was not empty, as Hiccup wished. It was after the usual lunch hour, but there were still several stragglers, all of whom eyed Hiccup with angry and suspicious glances. He did his best to ignore them, but he was distinctly exhausted. His body was tired, his mind spent, and his emotions strung through a washing ringer. It was all he could do to keep from having a breakdown while eating, as quickly as he possibly could.

A heavy sort of moroseness had settled over his shoulders, and he hunched over his plate. A few stray tears fell unnoticed on the table.

Finally, he finished eating. Leaving his plate on the table, he hastily stood, nearly running into another Viking, and headed towards the forge. He wasn't sure why he wanted to go there-but he had always found peace and privacy in the little back room, and needed those things now.

Upon arriving, however, he wasn't sure it was such a good choice. Tacked up to the walls and scattered over the desk and floor were drawings of Toothless, of his tailfin, of him lounging around the cove, Toothless, Toothless, over and over again. Hiccup's hands began shaking, and with a cry of fury and anguish, he ripped down all the papers. They tore apart in his hands, crumpling and twisting, charcoal smearing. Out of breath and gasping, he looked up to see two sole surviving pictures. One was a picture of him and Toothless, the moment in the cove when he had put all faith in the dragon, reaching out to him.

The other was a picture of Astrid.

Astrid. He had barely thought of her, at least romantically.

His eyes went wide and his jaw slackened as a realization hit him. Astrid must have told everyone about him and Toothless. The day before, in the woods, she must have followed him. Snatching the picture off the wall, he pulled it apart viciously. Rage flooded through his veins like a tidal wave, and he screamed, a low feral sound that ripped from his throat and crashed to his ears. The sudden surge of emotion was too much and he burst into tears once more.

Leaning his head against the wall, he cried so hard his body shook. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair! He had done everything he possible could to please people, to not be the screw up, the useless one. But nothing had been enough. Ever since he was old enough for people to care, it had been a constant parade of angry remarks and disappointed leers. He almost would have preferred physical abuse. At least that healed, only left a scar on the skin that could fade away.

But the mental beatings given to him by himself and others...those were seared into his memory forever.

~o~O~o~

"Hiccup?"

He shook his head viciously, not even turning.

"Go away Gobber."

"Hiccup, I'm worried about you." There was genuine concern in the blacksmith's voice, but Hiccup wanted none of it.

"You weren't so worried when all I wanted was someone to care." His eyes were closed, and if it weren't for his red cheeks and tear tracks lining down his face, Hiccup might appear to be peaceful.

Gobber sighed. "I know that we probably should have payed you more attention, but-"

"Probably?" Hiccup's eyes snapped open, and he pushed himself to his feet. "You never gave a damn how I felt. So blind to me that those moments that I..." He trailed off, losing his energy. "Just leave. None of you ever cared that all I wanted was a friend."

"You know that's not true." Gobber tried to protest, but stopped when Hiccup gave a soft sigh.

"It's true enough."

The words cut deeply, and Gobber gave up trying to help. With a stoic nod, he murmured "I'll just leave you be, then."

The cloth flap fell back into place. Hiccup gazed at the destroyed studio, feeling a small twinge of regret at having destroyed so many hours of work. But it didn't matter anymore. Toothless was dead. He had no use for them anymore.

Hiccup had no sense of how much time had passed save for the slowly dwindling light he could see through the edges of the entryway, and the growing sense of hunger in his stomach. Not that he wanted to eat. The candle had flickered out long ago, the wick burned away completely, and he had never stood up to light another one.

Gobber reappeared in the entryway.

"I thought I told you to leave." Hiccup said, trying to put some of his previous anger in the words. But he only felt a dull numbness.

"Your father is calling a meeting in the great hall. You're required to attend."

"He's not my father anymore."

"Ah, don't be overdramatic." Gobber said.

"I'm not." The weight settled more heavily on him. "He disowned me earlier."

Shock played over Gobber's face in a series of rapid emotions and coordinating expressions, and Hiccup felt a small flare inside. At least someone recognized the injustice of it all.

"Stoick then. Called a meeting. You need to go."

"I'll be there." Hiccup promised, and Gobber left.

It took a while for him to work up the energy to stand, but he eventually ambled his way to the great hall where he was once again greeted with glares from every direction. Not that he cared. But when he tried to take a seat in the back, Stoick shook his head, and gestured to the chair next to him.

What was this? Execution by public shunning?

"Alright, quiet down, quiet down!" Stoick ordered, and the hall quickly fell silent. "I know that there has been some disturbance here over the last day-"

"Understatement!" Someone called, and Stoick glared in the general direction of the speaker.

"However," He continued. "I believe that this is a solution which will benefit everyone." He paused. "I have been thinking on the best way to kill the Night Fury, and raise one of Berk's heroes to his proper place."

Toothless was still alive. It was like a blinding flare of light. Alive, alive, alive...

"The only two candidates left in dragon training were Hiccup and Astrid Hofferson"-here some low cheering from the Hofferson's area of the room- "And I propose that we both let them kill a dragon. They were essentially tied anyways."

"No fair!"  
"Astrid should get to kill it herself!"

"What are you doing letting that traitor in the arena?"

Hiccup flinched, and pulled back into his chair, though that did nothing to stem the tide of comments.

"Enough!" Stoick pounded a fist on the table. "Astrid will get to kill the Monstrous Nightmare, and all due praise that goes with that. However, I believe that since Hiccup was the one who shot the Night Fury down..."

"Oh gods no..." Hiccup breathed, too silently to be heard by anyone.

"He will be accepted back into the village and claim uncontested chieftainship for killing it in the arena tomorrow!"

The crowd yelled its approval, shouts layering over one another while Stoick beamed at the well-reception of his idea.

And Hiccup slid down in his chair, desperately trying to hold back more tears for when he was back home.


	7. The Kill

**Salutations!**

 **Sorry this chapter is a bit late...the Five Nights At Freddy's 4 trailer came out and I spent way more time than I should have watching Youtube and analyzing. And then I wasn't home at all yesterday...But anyway, chapter for you.**

 **Quite a few of you requested that I make Hiccup go all dark and want to get revenge...you do realize he doesn't have a vengeful bone in his body right? But just you wait, I have a surprise for all of you who requested that...**

 **Anyways...**

 **Enjoy**

Chapter Seven

The Kill

Hiccup stared up at the ceiling, barely able to see it in the darkness. His body was tired. His mind was tired. All the emotion and trauma of the day had left him with a heavy fatigued feeling that weighed down on him oppressively. Sleep eluded him.

Stoick's words rang through his mind over and over. He could be accepted back into the clan. Uncontested chieftainship. The adoration of everyone, including the one man he had been trying to please more than anyone else in all of Midgard.

Then the other side of his mind would chime in. Toothless. The only true friend he'd ever had, even if he was a dragon. He couldn't possibly trade that bond for fame that would die down after a short spell.

And yet...would it? He would forever be known as the only one to shoot down and kill a Night Fury. It would be a story for the history of Berk: Hiccup the Useless suddenly transforming into a warrior. The four days in between the shooting down and actual killing would be easily ignored. It terrified him and thrilled him at the same time. He wasn't sure that was who he really was, but it was all he had ever wanted to be. He could see it all so clearly in his head.

 _He could smell the dirt and water from the night's rain as he stepped into the arena. The crowd roared and chanted his name as he stepped over towards the weapons rack, and selected a knife. Hefting it a little in his hands, he nodded. It fit so well in his hands, as if made for him._

 _He raised his weapon of choice to the chief in a salute before turning it in his hands and plunging it into the Night Fury's belly. He barely even gave it a passing glance as he cut his way through muscle and sinew until he reached the heart. Ripping it out, he held it high, blood dropping in red rivulets down his arm and soaking into the green fabric of his tunic._

 _The crowd of Vikings screamed their approval, Stoick beaming and even Astrid's harsh scowl softening a bit as she looked on with wonder. The twinge of guilt and sadness was so easily ignored when he saw the admiration in everyone's eyes._

 _He was no longer Hiccup the Useless._

 _He was Hiccup Haddock, dragon slayer, Conqueror of the Night..._

Mercy

His eyes shot open and he dragged in a full breath. He had almost lulled himself to sleep with his welcome fantasy, a decision almost reached. But one word had snapped him awake once more.

Mercy.

He could have killed the dragon. Should have killed Toothless. But the fear in his face, so perfectly reflecting his own emotions his soul may has well have been standing in front of a mirror. And when the roles were reversed, and Toothless had Hiccup in his power...

Mercy.

Had Toothless felt it too?  
And that day in the cove, when Hiccup had completely given his trust to a dragon more deadly than starvation in winter...yet here he was. Those moments, those precious seconds where he touched Toothless for the first time, an emotion had flooded through him that he'd never before experienced. A peace, a serenity. Acceptance, and oddly love.

Was he really going to trade that for some selfish desire?

But it was a sacrifice he could make, if it meant getting something he had longed for all his life.

Hiccup lay a bit longer, torn between loyalty and belonging. Finally, he whispered "I can't do this."

His mind no longer able to focus on a coherent thought Hiccup slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

~o~O~o~

When he awoke the next morning, it was with barely any sleep, but he somehow managed to roll out of bed and head downstairs. He still hadn't come to a definite conclusion. There were too many factors to consider with each, and even as the time to decide drew steadily nearer, no decision had been made.

He headed downstairs to breakfast, praying that no one else was there, and he breathed a low sigh of relief when his wish was granted. Stoick must have been off somewhere attending to chiefly duties.

However, when he pulled off a hunk of bread from the loaf that always sat on the table, he stared at it, unable to bring himself to put it in his mouth. After giving it a long scrutinization, he sighed and put it back, covering the bread with the cloth again. He would probably regret not eating later, but for now, he couldn't care less.

Life on Berk had continued as normal, even though his seemed to be in completely shattered fragments. He had found a piece of glass once on the beach where lightning had hit the sand. It was intricate and amazing, even if it hadn't been the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. He had intended to give it to Trader Johann in exchange for something on the merchant's next visit, but it had slipped from his hands. Instead of breaking into a few pieces like the ceramic pots and vessels he usually dropped, it had exploded into hundreds of little fragments, fractures running through the larger pieces. The broken remains of the glass, forever imprinted in his memory in a moment of sheer disappointment, seemed how his life felt now.

Hiccup wandered for a while, trying to stay out of the other Vikings' way, and eventually ended up at the kill ring. A cage had been constructed around Toothless, and a cloth cover draped over it, to hide the dragon from view, though why he didn't understand.

There was a tap on his shoulder, and he whirled around to see Gobber.

"Hey." He said, turning back around.

"Well aren't you just all sunshine and honeybees this mornin'?" The blacksmith chuckled when Hiccup turned a glare on him. "Eh, sorry."

"No you're not." He whispered.

Gobber fell silent a moment. "Your f-Stoick wanted you to have this."

Hiccup turned to see a helmet, with two small horns protruding from the metal base. "Why?"

"To keep you safe in the ring." Gobber handed it to him. Hiccup took it and studied it in his hands. A flood of emotion swept through him. His father had gotten a helmet made for him. How long ago? Why couldn't he come and give it to Hiccup himself. There was a chance that he could simply be too busy, but something as symbolic and important as that...no, Stoick was avoiding him.

"Oh...well...thanks, I guess."

"Not at, lad." Gobber clapped a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You just get yourself ready. Quite a big day you have coming up."

His mentor's words only stirred up more confusion. Everyone expected him to simply kill Toothless. They couldn't understand why that could cause so much distress. Toothless was a dragon after all, and a Night Fury at that.

And dragons simply had to be killed.

~o~O~o~

Hiccup stood outside the wooden grate of the kill ring, leaning against the wall with his head cradled in his hands. His head pounded with every beat of his heart. What was he supposed to do? No one else could possibly understand the fury with which the two different sides of him tore each other apart.

"This is your big moment!" Gobber announced cheerily from behind. "Knock 'em dead." Hiccup stood up, and Gobber patted him affectionately on the back. "I look forward to seeing you after."

Hiccup swallowed hard as the grate lifted, and he entered into the arena.

Just like in his imagination the night before, Vikings surrounded him on every side, cheering his name, shouting and calling. Stoick sat on his large chair, watching all of the proceedings, Spitelout beside him, and Gobber heading up as well.

Hiccup tried not to let his hands shake as he pulled a knife from off the rack. Stoick raised an eyebrow and made a comment to Gobber which was obviously unintelligible from his distance. Gobber shrugged in reply. Holding the knife high, he nodded, and the cover over Toothless's cage was lifted.

The Night Fury inside looked exhausted, beaten down, but not quite broken, and he eyed Hiccup with a look of hurt and betrayed trust. Seeing that in his friend's eyes...something broke through the dam of emotion he had tried to construct, and all at once the answer hit him.

If he killed Toothless, he would have the one thing he had always desired. But it was never about getting what he wanted.

It didn't matter what he wanted. It mattered what he did.

And killing his best friend was unforgivable.

Making direct eye contact with Toothless, he smiled, a slight expression he would often make when coming up with some sort of plan. The dragon understood the meaning behind the grin, and his head came up a little.

"Open the cage!" Hiccup demanded. The two Vikings across from him nodded, and reached up to undo the clasps on the metal bars. The walls crashed to the ground. Lowering their heads respectfully, they exited the arena quickly.

From the short distance, Hiccup could see that the artificial tailfin seemed to be in good order. None of the lines had been cut, and though Toothless himself looked awful, Hiccup had something to work with.

A plan forming in his mind as he went, he stepped up to the Night Fury, and looked up to Stoick. With one hand, he took off his helmet, holding it by the horn, and raised it up. The crowd screamed their approval, yelling at him to kill the Night Fury, avenge those who had fallen by its doing.

If only they knew what was about to happen.

With as much force as he could muster, Hiccup threw the helmet across the ring, and knelt down next to Toothless. The cheering suddenly went silent, horrified gasps exhoing off the stone arena. With the knife, Hiccup cut away the muzzle and ropes binding Toothless. The dragon got to his feet, and made a motion for Hiccup to climb on.

"You got it, bud."

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock!" He cringed at the words and tone, looking up to see his father. He had swung his hammer against the bars around the arena so hard the metal had given way. "What in Hel's name do you think you're doing?!"

Hiccup pressed his lips together, and got onto the saddle. He knew how all of this worked...in theory. His cheat sheet had gotten ripped off at some point, so it was all from memory.

"I'm rescuing a friend." He leaned down to Toothless, and patted him gently. "Okay, let's get out of here."

The dragon reared back and let loose a bolt of plasma that sent everyone shrieking and collapsing to the floor. When the smoke cleared, the chains hung open in a hole large enough for the two of them to get out.

Hiccup's heart leapt into his throat as they took off, but somehow, he knew what to do. Operating the prosthesis came naturally, he wondered how he had ever feared before.

And then they were out into the blue, clouds around them, and he whooped with excitement and joy. Berk faded quickly below them as they took off. He was leaving. After ten years of abuse and neglect, he finally was leaving.

They slowed in their flight, white and gray and pink and blue studded around them. Hiccup took a deep breath, letting the cold air rush into his lungs. The freedom brought with it an exhileration that cleared his mind.

Hiccup spread his arms wide, letting the wind carry him up slightly, and Toothless let out a soft churr.

He had finally given up on his old life, and he wasn't going to go back any time soon.

 **And so, we reach the end of Hiccup's life on Berk. Where will he go? What will he do? All we know is that he's never going to go back...**

 **Or will he?**

 **ehehehehehe**

 **For those of you who are wondering, the 'glass' that Hiccup found was a Fulgurite, or a lightning tube. Sometimes when lighting hits sand, it kicks up the dust and freezes it into glass, and it can extend underground as well.**


	8. Everything We Know

**Salutations!**

 **I may or may not have misled you about the contents of this chapter. Though if you'll look at my A/N in the previous chapter, you'll find that I haven't lied at all. ("We didn't lie. We simply withheld certain truths from you.")**

 **This chapter felt a little bit awkward when I was reading through it, but that's because it's a filler/exposition chapter. :)**

 **Anways, carry on.**

Chapter Eight

Everything We Know

They set down on a small island after about an hour. Toothless was breathing heavily, and once Hiccup was off his back, he flopped onto the ground. It was understandable-though he had healed fairly quickly, his skin was still riddled with lacerations.

Hiccup's stomach rumbled loudly, and Toothless's head came up in surprise at the sound. Chuckling Hiccup said "I'm just hungry, bud. I'm not dying or anything." Still, after only a few more minutes, he suggested fishing, which Toothless took to wholeheartedly, scooping the fish out of the ocean before carrying them back to the island. Hiccup had a small flame going over which he cooked a fish while Toothless simply slurped up the raw fish. Which was still disgusting.

Shrieks came from the sky above them, and Hiccup looked up to see a small flock of Terrors descending down on them. He reflexively moved into a defensive position, but they seemed to have no interest in him. Instead, they moved towards Toothless's pile of fish. The Night Fury narrowed his eyes, burying them underneath his chin, but one fish managed to escape, bobbing comically as the Terror tried to sneak it away.

Toothless growled, and the Terrible Terror scraped his paws against the ground, preparing to blast fire at Toothless. With a deadpan expression, the dragon blew a small puff of plasma at the Terror, which swelled up in a fireball as the gas inside of it caught fire. After a moment of laying on the ground pathetically, it stood up and began ambling directionlessly.

"Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" Hiccup muttered to himself before pulling the fish on his stick off and throwing it to the Terrible Terror. "There you go."

The small dragon greedily gulped it down, then cocked his head at Hiccup, as if appraising him. Whatever it was, the Terror must have been satisfied as he came and curled up under Hiccup's hand, without the slightest trace of aggression.

It shouldn't have surprised him so much, that other dragons would not attack him. Surely if the Night Fury, known to be the most vicious of dragons, could act docile, then other dragons could too. And yet, seeing the Terror, feeling the rapid rise and fall of its chest under his hand...Hiccup understood that the other dragons really could be good. It wasn't just a fluke.

"Everything we know about you guys...is wrong." He murmured.

Toothless lifted his head and gave Hiccup an unreadable expression before turning back to his fish.

Well, so much for an amazing discovery.

~o~O~o~

Hiccup and Toothless flew aimlessly for a while, the former still drunk on the prospect of freedom, the latter content to do as his friends wished. Clouds piled up in pink columns that towered and shifted around them, the rapidly dwindling daylight casting colors through the sky.

It was amazing.

Hiccup was putting off the decision of where to go. He knew from Trader Johann that there were lands to the east of the Archipelago, though some were a fair distance away. Maybe there was something there for him. Someplace where he wouldn't be considered a freak, or an outcast.

Suddenly, Toothless swerved sharply, and Hiccup almost fell off. "Toothless, what's happening?"

He shook his head sharply, and continued flying, seemingly driven by another force. A shadow caught Hiccup's attention from his peripheral, and his eyes widened as he realized that he was surrounded by dragons-Nightmares, Zipplebacks, Gronckles. And every single dragon was headed in the same direction, carrying sheep or fish. What was going on?

The mist was cold on his face, but within a few minutes, an intense source of heat blasted away the dew on his skin. Hiccup's eyes widened as he realized that they were headed straight for a mountain, blazing with light.

No, it wasn't a mountain. It was a volcano. And they were about to go inside of it.

The heat was almost unbearable as they wove through a duct in the stone, following close behind other dragons. And then, they were in a massive central chamber, with niches and alcoves lining the side. In the center was a deep pit, filled with a noxious yellow fog. The air stank of sulfur and brimstone.

This wasn't just any old mountain.

This was the dragon's nest.

Toothless swerved again, this time taking them to a small ledge. He seemed to have regained his senses somewhat, turning to give Hiccup a worried glance. What on earth was happening if it could scare _Toothless_ so much?

In a grand procession, the dragons all began dumping their kill down the mouth of the volcano. Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Well, it's nice to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole." It was so odd that they weren't eating any of it. Did they store it somehow?

A straggling Gronckle lazily flew over the pit, and discarded one small fish that fell pathetically. Giving himself a complacent scratch, the Gronckle began flying away. Then a deep, unearthly howl rose up from beneath them, and an enormous head emerged from the mist, clamping its jaws down over the Gronckle.

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat. "What in Hel's name is that?"

Toothless gave an uneasy whine, and Hiccup patted him gently. "Come on, bud, let's get out of here." But just as he spread his wings, the rumble came again. They flew away just as the head of the beast snatched at the rocks where they had been seconds before.

All of the dragons began spiraling up out of the volcano in a panic, and they were trapped below for precious moments. The jaws snapped around a Hideous Zippleback, and dragged it down, narrowly missing the Night Fury and his rider. Finally, however, they managed to make it out, fleeing into the night sky.

It took several moments for his breathing to calm. Whatever that thing was, it had no good intentions. Was that the queen of the dragons? Like the way a beehive or an ant colony worked, a larger leader with several thousand workers. If so...maybe it wasn't the dragon's fault that they were raiding the villages of the Archipelago.

A new series of images went through his mind, of his father and the rest of Berk finding this island. Cracking open the mountain. Not realizing they were up against something like nothing they had ever known. And if they did so, they would all die, and it would be his fault.

No, they couldn't find the nest. No one had for hundreds of years, he protested to himself.

Yet, he had found it. Or well, Toothless had. It existed. It was in the fog of Helheim's gate, the source of the evil that had plagued them for seven generations. Who was to say it wouldn't eventually be located?

He couldn't let that happen. Too many innocent lives would be lost, and he couldn't let that hang on his conscience, even if it was just as a 'what if.' He had to back, had to try and convince his father to stop searching. There had to be another way to stop the raids, but they couldn't be allowed to find the island. Not with the monstrosity that ruled it.

And so it was with a nagging mind and heavy heart that Hiccup turned, and he and Toothless made their way back to the island he had sworn he would never return to again just hours before.

~o~O~o~

As he suspected he would, when Hiccup landed, he was met with axes and swords drawn and held in his direction.

Toothless growled, baring teeth the Berkians knew could tear them in half in an instant. They stood at an impasse for quite some time before Stoick shouldered his way to the front of the group.

"And just what do you think you're doing back here?"

"Please, you have to listen to me. You have to stop looking for the Dragon's nest."

Stoick laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. "And what in Hel's name makes you think that we're going to do that?"

Hiccup shook his head. "You have to stop. You can't...I won't let..."

"You are no longer welcome here, Hiccup. Get off this island, and take your demon with you."

"No! Listen, there's...something else on their island. It's like nothing you've ever seen!"

Stoick, who had turned to walk away, now whirled around once more. "What? You've been to the nest? How did you find it?"

Hiccup backed away. "T-Toothless found it, only a-a dragon can find it."

Stoick glanced over to the Night Fury, and Hiccup raised a hand defensively.

"Please, Dad."

For a moment, it seemed as though Stoick might agree. Then he set his jaw. "I think I've made it clear that you are no son of mine. Leave, now."

"But-"

"Now!" Stoick roared, so loudly that the nearby Vikings flinched.

Hiccup's face hardened, and he swung himself up onto Toothless' saddle. "Fine then. See if I care when you all get yourselves killed."

~o~O~o~

Hiccup screamed, his rage and frustration at the unfairness of it all coming out in one sound. Toothless churred concernedly, but Hiccup ignored him.

"For once, for once could he have listened to me? No. _No_ , because all he cares about is some stupid idea of revenge. Maybe it would have gotten better, who knows? It doesn't matter, because they're all going to get themselves killed!"

He sighed, breath coming out in jagged bursts. "It was stupid to come back. I don't care about them. They never once were concerned about my health, so why should I give a damn about them?"

His voice was weak; he was only trying to convince himself.

"Oh, I've screwed things up so badly, bud. Now they now how to find the island, and they think that they're going to attack it, but they'll be so outmatched it'll be pathetic..."

His hands gripped the saddle, knuckles going white. They had been flying for hours, Hiccup trying to decide where he wanted to go. Towards the sun or away? It reminded him of a story he had heard, about a castle East of the Sun, and West of the moon. It was an impossibility: That would be going off the edge of the world. But it had still been fun to hear about.

"What am I going to do, Toothless?"

The dragon growled, and began turning in a tight arc.

"Toothless? What are you doing? We can't go back, they don't want us."

Then he realized that they weren't headed back to Berk. On the horizon was Helheim's gate, and small specks that he knew to be the ships of the Vikings.

"Oh..."

He had spent his whole life running away. It was easier than facing his fear. If he brushed everything off, if he could get away fast enough, it would work out okay. That was the lie he had told himself for years.

But staring at the ships he knew were headed towards their doom, Hiccup knew he had to stop running. He may have made the problem worse, but that didn't mean that he could fix it.

"Come on bud," He murmured, and they shot off towards the fog.

He couldn't run away anymore.

Now was the time to fight.


	9. Hiccup Lost

**Hey guys, remember me?**

 **Ehehe, sorry about the wait. But I'm shelving noveling for the time being. I need to give my very strained creative juices a rest. What better way than to start up fanfiction again?**

 **You guys are going to get a massive influx of story. And something else too. *rubs hands together* secrets, so delectable.**

 **Ya'll should listen to Red Sorrow by Audiomachine while listening to this.**

 **Anyways, carry on after three months of me not posting anything.**

Chapter Nine

Hiccup Lost

"When we crack this mountain open, all hell is going to break loose," Stoick murmured.

"And my undies!" Gobber interjected. "Good thing I brought extras."  
Stoick shot his friend a glance over his shoulder, then down at the plan at his feet. For a moment, he wondered if they really knew what they were doing. Hiccup was prone to exaggeration, but remembering the way he looked so terrified...

But he couldn't very well back down now.

The catapults were manned behind him, and taking a deep breath to steady himself, Stoick gave the command for them to launch. The boulders pounded at the mountain side, and the walls of it gave way like crumbling cheese. Stoick glanced around at the others before walking straight up to the edge of the hole they had created.

At another signal, a ball of flaming reeds was shot into the mouth of the mountain. Stoick's heart missed a beat in his chest. There had to have been thousands of dragons nesting there. With a primal scream, he raised his axe and charged, the Vikings of Berk behind him. Perhaps he felled a few, but for the most part, they flew away, shrieking. They seemed more content to run than to fight, and within a few minutes, all of them were gone.

"We've done it!" Spitelout yelled, and a great cheer rose up among the Berkians. They had won. Easily. Too easily..

A deep roar resonated through the ground, shaking the earth seeming to have come from Hel itself. Stoick's eyes went wide as he realized what was happening. "Hold together!" He shouted. "Form your ranks!"

Then the entire side of the mountain exploded in a rain of dust and rubble, and from it emerged a monster, ten times as large as any dragon he had ever seen before. It was death personified, some creature from the depths of the underworld. "Odin help us," He murmured.

It had to have been the height of three masts, and nearly as wide. It opened its maw and out came a thunderous roar that he thought might leave him deaf. His people screamed, and ran back towards the ships as the creature bore down on the massive catapults, snapping them into pieces.

Hiccup had been right.

Oh gods. He had been right.

~o~O~o~

The fog whipped at his face, chilling him to the bone, but he urged Toothless on. The Night Fury wove through the rocks of Helheim's gate, narrowly missing the pillars of solid stone.

"Just a little bit more bud, come on. We have to save them."  
They had flown for hours, desperately trying to catch up with the fleet of ships that had such an overwhelming headstart, even Toothless' speeds could only do so much.

Then finally, the mist broke, and his heart leapt into his throat.

The queen stood outside of the mountain. The Berkians fleeing to their ships were pathetic in comparison. Hiccup pulled Toothless into a steep dive, and just as the Queen lunged towards a few lone figures on the ground, Toothless fired a bolt of plasma, and it reared back angrily.

He looked down at the people he had saved and saw his father. They made eye contact for a brief moment before Hiccup pulled up into the sky. Would his father still be angry with him?

But that didn't matter.

Hiccup shook his head sharply, focusing on the Queen. Six eyes tracked him, and the massive, bony tail smashed into the ground. With an almighty roar, it turned to the fleet of ships to which the Vikings were escaping, and with one blast, set fire to the entire row. Screams rose up into the air, and the dragon prepared to launch another blast. Squinting, Hiccup saw just before it blew fire, gas filled up in the back of its throat, gas that looked just like the volatile Hideous Zippleback gas.

 _Not so fireproof on the inside..._

He smiled. Patting Toothless, he murmured "That thing has wings...alright, let's see if it can use them!"  
Hiccup pulled Toothless into a steep dive once more, his ears popping as they dropped. The Night Fury let out a bolt of plasma which hit the monstrous dragon square on the face. With a howl of rage, it spread out its massive, pocked wings and sent a powerful stroke downward. Hiccup marveled at how strong the wings must be, and if he had not been fighting for his life, he might have stopped to study the structure. They must have been incredibly well built in order to bring a dragon of those proportions into the air.

He shook his head from engineering and technology. He had a fight to win.

~o~O~o~

Stoick watched the dragon lumber into the clouds, following the speck that was his son. His _son_ , riding a Night Fury with an agility an grace that should have come from years of practice. Stoick had to remain calm for the sake of leadership, but his stomach twisted as he let his only son be put into danger once more.

His only son...

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Gobber murmured.

"He's Hiccup. He's been through worse." He tried to put a note of humor into the statement, but there was none to be found.

The Vikings watched breathlessly as blasts of fire from the air above lit up the clouds, leaving glimpses of silhouettes. The mother dragon was just so...big. How in Thor's name did Hiccup think he was going to beat that? He was smart, but there were some limits nature imposed even upon children of his precocity.

Stoick didn't exactly consider himself to be an optimist. How could he, with all that had happened in his life? But now, he prayed harder to every god he could think of. He could make amends. He would deal with the shame of renouncing a disinheritance. If only they would bring his son back to him alive.

~o~O~o~

Hiccup pulled Toothless into a tight arc, narrowly missing a jet of fire from the queen. It was getting closer each time, as it better gauged their position. Toothless panted beneath him. He was stubborn, but Hiccup knew that he had to be growing tired. They couldn't keep it up for much longer.

The larger dragon howled, and shot another blast of fire. Hiccup could feel the heat of the fire roiling past his back. If he survived this, he didn't want to think about how badly he would be burned.

"Alright bud, I think we've got her properly baited. Let's go." He murmured. Hiccup and Toothless moved in unison and they entered a steep dive. With the wind pulling tears from his eyes, Hiccup turned to see the queen following their dive. With its larger weight, it was gaining speed faster, gaining on them.

Toothless squirmed beneath him. "It's alright. Just a few more seconds."

The queen opened its mouth, and Hiccup could see the gas inside of it forming into a ball prepared to destroy them.

"Hold."

It was getting larger now. It would have to be a split second before the queen would be ready to fire. There was no indicator here. He could only go off of what he felt was right.

"Now, Toothless!" He shouted, and the Night Fury, more than willingly turned and launched a blast of plasma into the queen's mouth. They pulled out of the way as the dragon _exploded_ , ripping itself apart from the inside. It crashed to the earth below them, but Hiccup hadn't calculated how large the fireball would be, and they were engulfed in flames.

He could feel he blisters popping up all over his body, charring his shirt and searing his flesh, and he cried out in pain. Toothless's prosthetic tailfin caught fire, and Hiccup's stomach leapt into his throat as they began to drop. Holes tore through the leather.

Toothless wailed as they fell, but Hiccup's eyes were on a much more sinister threat. The tail of the queen dragon coming at them _fast_. He tried desperately to move the tailfin, but it was ripped away by the air pressured, and the tail thudded into them soundly.

He could vaguely see the massive fire of the dead dragon coming towards him, like arms embracing him to death.

Maybe he would go to Valhalla.

~o~O~o~

Stoick watched in abject horror as the minuscule form of his son, and the slightly larger speck that was the Night Fury, plummeted towards the earth, engulfed in the flames.

The blast from the fire whistled out around them, kicking up dust and stones, and they turned away to avoid the worst of it. When he looked back, the fire had settled considerably, and he broke into a run towards where he had last seen his son.

"Hiccup!" He yelled, searching frantically amidst the charred bones and entrails of the dragon. "Son!"  
A slight movement caught his eye, and a mixture of relief and worry filled him as he sprinted towards the downed Night Fury.

But no Hiccup.

There was an inherent sense of revulsion at the thing before him. But Hiccup loved it. It had saved him many times before. Even though it failed to do so now.

The rest of the Vikings had gathered behind him, watching their chief mourn.

And he suddenly felt immense compassion, for a dragon of all things. Trying to keep his voice from choking up, Stoick whispered "I'm so sorry." The Night Fury couldn't possibly understand the depth of his words, of how many things it was sorry for.

It gave him a rather human expression of confusion. Rolling back slightly, it unfurled one of its massive wings. And then the other.

His breath caught in his throat at the limp form of his son, covered in burns and blisters. What really held his attention was Hiccup's left leg. Or rather, the lack of it from the knee down. He couldn't see the rise and fall of the chest that would indicate breathing, but he cast aside his helmet anyway. Gently lifted Hiccup chest to his ear.

Stoick almost burst into tears, something he hadn't done in years. There was a faint pulse, his heart beating within him like drums of victory.

"He's alive." Stoick murmured. "You brought him back alive."

A cheer went up from the crowd behind him. Gobber, in a voice with just as much relief and healed fear said "Well, most of him.

Stoick gave his friend a wearied glance, but quickly returned his attention to the Night Fury, for Toothless, as Hiccup had called it. "Thank you, for saving my son."

Toothless held his gaze for a few more seconds before his eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed against the ground unconscious once more.

They could take care of that. Hiccup and his dragon would both be taken care of. They weren't ever going to be cast out again.


	10. Hiccup Found

**See, I promised I would update soon.**

 **It's only been two weeks :3**

 **It's worth noting here that there isn't going to be any Hiccstrid in this fic.*insert anon hate or something* I'm not going to force a subplot that makes no sense with the previous events of the story. Sorry if you're offended.**

 **Also I've placed Berk just off of** **Ærø (Aero, if the symbols don't show up for you) Denmark, in case you were wondering.**

Chapter Ten

Hiccup Found

Hiccup opened his eyes.

For a moment, he was disoriented. Where was he? The rafters overhead, the fireplace...he was in his house. His bed had been dragged out from his room upstairs to the main room in his house.

Toothless nuzzled against him, and he pet the dragon's nose softly. "Hey bud." Then his eyes widened. "You're in my house! Does Dad know you're here?"

Toothless perked up at the words, jumping around excitedly and knocking into things. Hiccup pushed himself into a sitting position. "Whoa, Toothless, stop!" His breath caught in his throat as his leg brushed against something metal. Where his other leg should have been.

He pushed aside the blanket, swallowing hard. Toothless came up beside him, and Hiccup gave the dragon a desperate glance.

His leg was missing. How could he fly Toothless without his left leg?

His leg was gone.

But how? He vaguely remembered falling towards certain death, and Toothless diving after him like a shadow. The fire, maybe?

"We match now, bud." He said, and Toothless churred softly.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up, testing out the balance. It felt good. Gobber must have made it. The man knew more about prosthetics than anyone. It was odd having his weight suddenly supported by wood and metal. He took a confident step forward, and would have fallen flat on his face if Toothless had not been there to catch him.

Breathing heavy, Hiccup stood again, his hand on the Night Fury's head as he hobbled towards the door. His body ached, but strangely, there was no sign of the burns that he had felt forming. How long had he been out?

He reached for the door handle, and pulled it open with some difficulty. The sunlight blinded him, and he blinked spots out of his vision as he started forward down the steep hill that led up to the Haddock house.

"Hey, it's Hiccup!" Someone called, and in a moment, he was surrounded by Vikings who shouted his name, smiling and seeming to be enjoying his mere presence.

"Ha, there's my boy!"

Hiccup's eyes went wide, and he turned to see his father lumbering towards him, followed closely by Gobber.

"D-Dad. What's happening, I don't..."

"You saved us, Hiccup. You killed that dragon. How are you feeling?"

This much attention all at once was overwhelming. He shrugged. "I've felt better."

Gobber gestured to his prosthetic leg. "I made that for you. With a little 'Hiccup' flair thrown in. How'do you like it?"

"I might make a few tweaks," He said, regarding it.

Everyone laughed, but it felt disconnected. Once again, they liked him for something he had done, not for who he was. It was disconcerting.

"Night Fury!" Someone shouted, and he cringed on reflex. Toothless appeared, jumping over people to get to Hiccup. He had run off for some reason or other, distracted and with the attention span of a sparrow. Toothless curled around Hiccup protectively, and he felt a bit better at the modicum of support his friend was giving him.

Gobber placed a large bundle in his hands, which he immediately recognized as a tailfin for Toothless. And of a much better make and quality than Hiccup's. He must have found his notes or something.

"Welcome home."

Home.

The word didn't sound quite right.

Was this really his home, because everyone saw him as a hero? What about when the battle glory wore off? Would he still have a home amongst them?

He didn't like the answers he knew were true.

Stoick finally broke up the crowd, clapping Hiccup on the shoulder and promising that they would talk later. Astrid, who had hung on the edge of the crowd, now approached him.

"Not too bad, Hiccup," She said. Her smile was broad.

He inhaled, exhaled. Then shook his head, and headed back inside without responding.

~o~O~o~

The new tailfin worked beautifully. The bright red leather, with a stylized dragon skull on it, was tight, and well-made. It would last a lot longer than the one he had made. There was a new system attached to it as well, a stirrup made so that he could still control Toothless's prosthetic even though he had one of his own.

They had been up in the air for around and hour now. His hands were chilled through to the bone, and he could barely hear anything but the wind whistling in his ears. But he was alone with Toothless, and that was enough to get him through it.

He hadn't spoken for most of the time they had been flying, except to give small encouragements. But he couldn't help it anymore.

"Toothless, we can't stay here."

The dragon strained to turn his head, giving Hiccup a thoroughly confused look.

"They don't really want us. They don't want me. They're just...happy for now. I don't think we'll be able to stay on Berk for much longer."

Toothless didn't respond.

"There's got to be something out there. I was content to leave, and there's nothing keeping me back here."

He was speaking to himself now. Trying to convince himself that he really did want to leave, despite having no motivation to do so except for the odd feeling that had plagued him all through the day, that some of these smiles were forced, that some of these cheers were congratulatory and not really sincere.

But seemed like his mind was already made up. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable. He would go. He had to.

~o~O~o~

"You're awfully quiet," Stoick remarked, looking over at his son, who was sitting in front of the fire. His dragon was curled around him, and Hiccup had his head resting against Toothless.

Hiccup shrugged.

"Do you still feel sick? Do you want me to call Gothi?"  
Another shrug,

"Alright, out with it. What's bothering you."

When Hiccup looked up at him, he had an expression not unlike a gathering storm. "Do you ever feel like you're alone? Even when you're surrounded by people who say they care about you?"

"No, not really. I mean, as the chief I've always experienced a certain amount of loneliness, but nothing too bad. Why?"

There was another moment of quiet before his son responded.

"I'm going to leave, Dad."

Stoick almost choked. "Leave? Why in Thor's name would you do that?"

Hiccup had been fiddling with something. A piece of wood. He threw it into the fire where it was quickly engulfed by flames. "Because I don't belong here."

Stoick laughed nervously. "Yes you do."  
There was anger in his voice when he spoke again. "No. I'm still just an outcast. It doesn't matter that I saved anyone. I think half of them are just scared because I have a Night Fury on my side. They all hated me before, I see no reason why they shouldn't hate me now."

"You're not leaving."

Hiccup looked up at him, a defiant, almost scary light in his eyes. "You can't exactly stop me."

"Hiccup," Stoick warned. "You're being ridiculous. You finally have what you want, everyone in the village thinks you're a hero. What more could you want?"

"A home."

"This is your home." Stoick protested.

Hiccup stood up without another word, and headed for the staircase. Toothless followed close behind.

"Hiccup!"

His son said nothing, just continued walking up the stairs as though he had heard nothing.

What had he said? He had tried to be kinder, to take the edge off as Gobber had advised him. Show Hiccup how proud he really was of him. But his son didn't want to hear it. He had his heart set somewhere outside of Berk, and a part of Stoick was angry for that, But he realized for the most part that Hiccup was telling the truth. Who knew how long the glory of the battle with the Green Death, as they had begun calling it, would last?

He didn't want Hiccup to go. But at the same time, Stoick realized that it would probably be for the best if he did.

~o~O~o~

Hiccup stared at the ceiling, not wanting to fall asleep. If he did, he would wake up tomorrow, and that would mean he was going to leave. As much as he wanted to, there was still a part of him that clung to what he knew on Berk, however ephemeral it was.

"Toothless?" He whispered, and the dragon's head came up. He could barely make his friend out in the dark, but the soft sounds of paws on wood were comforting. Toothless lay his head on Hiccup's chest, and he stroked the dragon's snout.

"I don't want to leave."

Toothless churred softly.

"But I have to, right? I mean, it'll be for the best. Maybe I can find some other people who ride dragons as well. Everyone here is just afraid of you."

Toothless nuzzled against him, and he smiled. "Well, not everyone."

What else was there for him to do but leave? Could he even make a life here, among the people who had despised him for so long?

Of course, these thoughts were hardly new, but a new light had been cast upon them now that he had the means and determination to go. So what was he waiting for? What was he so afraid of?

"I'm not going to be afraid," He murmured. His eyes fluttered, and closed. He fell asleep with the fire of resolution and Toothless curled up peacefully next to him.

~o~O~o~

"You're really leaving?"

Hiccup looked up to see Astrid standing in the doorway. His announcement to leave Berk had gone out earlier that morning, and the village had been buzzing about it ever since.

Hiccup regarded her intently. "Of course I am. Is there anything left for me here?"  
"Friends. Family. Are you just going to abandon us?"

He shook his head, going back to putting food and clothes into his pack. "None of you gave a damn about me until I defeated that dragon. Hell, I was disinherited and informally blacklisted. I don't have a single friend on this island, so don't give me any flak about abandoning you." He shoved a notebook into his bag a little more forcefully than necessary.

Astrid sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about that, but-"  
"Sorry?" He laughed under his breath before looking straight up at her, his bright emerald eyes boring into her own. "Sorry doesn't change fifteen years, Astrid."

His voice wasn't bitter. Only sad.

He hefted the pack over his shoulder. "So yes, I am leaving. There's gotta be something else out there for me and Toothless. Maybe I'll come back one day, maybe I won't. It isn't like it matters to you. You'll all probably be better off without me." Without looking at her, he turned and walked out.

"I never hurt you though!" She protested. "Don't I count for anything."

"You never did anything, Astrid. That hurts worst of all." He waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. "You can keep going on doing nothing. I'll just be out of your way." He tied the pack closed, and shoved past her out the door. Whistled for Toothless.

"Hiccup, stop!"  
He turned, anger flashing over his face before fading. In the moment before his expression melted into stone, she saw the truth-how scared, how confused, how alone he was.

"Astrid," He said, voice breaking a little, "Why do you _want_ me to stay?"

She didn't know how to respond. Her instincts went into overdrive, and she pulled Hiccup forward by his shirt, kissing him full on the lips.

He stood, shocked and frozen for several seconds. His face was unreadable.

"That's why I want you to stay." She whispered.

For a moment, Hiccup seemed convinced. He looked out over the horizon, then back to her. Then Toothless landed beside him, and the moment broke.

"It's not enough. For what it's worth, I forgive you. For all of it." He nodded once. "Good-bye, Astrid."

She did nothing but watch as he hefted the pack over his shoulders, and strode away.

~o~O~o~

The farewells to his father and Gobber were brief. He had already said his real goodbyes that morning. He hadn't cried.

He smiled, and turned to leave, pulling himself up onto Toothless's back. His father caught his arm.

"Hiccup,"

"You can't stop me from leaving, Dad," He said, exhausted from saying the words so many times.

His father shook his head. "I know son. I want to wish you good luck."

"I'll make you proud." He said, relieved.

Stoick grinned. "You already have." He pulled Hiccup into a bone-crushing hug before stepping back to allow his son to go. "And I'm sure your mother would be every bit as proud as I am."

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat, and he simply nodded, trying not to let the tears show. Turning to Toothless, he pat the dragon. "Are you ready to go Toothless?"

The dragon nodded sharply, and Hiccup moved the prosthetic into position. And then they were off, flying off into the slowly setting sun. He gave Berk one last parting glance.

He couldn't help the grin that formed at the immense sense of freedom.

"There's a whole world out there, Toothless." He murmured, "An eternity. And it's all for us."

Then he turned East, and urged Toothless on.

 **So, we've finally,** ** _finally_** **come to the end of the story arc on Berk. (At least I'm not commandocucumber. Damn, it took like thirty chapters for Hiccup to get back to Berk in Prodigal Son. Which you should all go read because it's fantastic)**

 **This is not the end of the story. The end of Act I, if you will. I'm just as excited as you all to unveil Hiccup's life in the eight years he will have been gone.**

 **Have a great week!**


	11. Midnight

**Salutations!**

 **Welcome to Act II of Chasing Eternity. I am so excited to reveal to you everything that has happened to Hiccup, and everything that will happen. But first a few words from the rambling author.**

 **User 'Transformers 0' sent me a lovely review saying how much they loved the story. Thank you for that :). But in that review, they said that if I wasn't up to the task of writing a sprawling saga of a story, I should end it at chapter 10. Well, rest assured, I have big plans for this story. I sat and outlined the next twenty or so chapters today, and that's only a part of what will be contained in this story. My vision for CE has always been that of an epic, with a story to leave you dizzy and exhausted at the sheer scope and wonder of it all. Trust me when I say, Chasing Eternity will be every bit as epic as I initially envisioned.**

 **Also, by the time many of you read this, there will be 100 followers on the story! Holy cow guys, that's insane. I always though CE was a powerful story, but I never thought it would rise to acclamation so quickly. It really means a lot to me.**

 **One final thing: I don't want to be the person who begs for reviews and stuff, but I really would like some feedback. I'm doing something completely different from most Hiccup-Ran-Away fics, and I would love to know what you all think, what you love, what you think should happen. Who knows? You might end up influencing the story?**

 **So yeah. Thanks again for all of the support. You all are marvelous.**

 **Enjoy!**

Act II

Home Again

Chapter Eleven

Midnight

~Eight Years Later~

The two men waited in the darkness, watching the lights of a ship pass by. They stood on a large rock jutting from the ocean, alone save for the two dragons they rode.

"Antoni, I want you to go in first. You and Luka distract them. I'll come in from behind."

Antoni nodded, though it wasn't easily visible in the dark on night. The moon overhead was waning, and only a sliver of light shone through. The Stormwarden took off, her platinum scales coruscating in the soft light. He loved this sorts of missions. There would always be some of that childlike wonder at sneaking out in the dead of night in him. Though they weren't sneaking out. They were on an authorized mission from the general of their regiment.

"You ready to go, bud?"

Toothless snorted. Of course he was ready.

Hiccup had sent Antoni and Luka on as a distraction because of how easily noticable she was in the night. But he and Toothless, they were invisible come midnight.

Shouts arose from the boat, and a warning bell sounded. Hiccup and Toothless watched from shadows as bows were pointed in his friend's direction. It always twisted in his stomach a little, knowing that he was putting his friend in danger. General Celestin had always said similar things to him when consulting with Hiccup on a maneuver.

His friends _lives_ were in his control.

But Antoni trusted Hiccup, and Hiccup trusted him not to make any foolish decisions that would get him killed.

He had to wait for a good number of people to be on the deck before attacking. Warfare was brutal, but it was no less brutal than the Norwegian raids in Pomerania. Hiccup had seen for himself the damage done, the casualties inflicted.

Of course, that was the life that he had come from. The Berkian archipelago was a long ways away from any mainland, so they didn't raid as often, but it still happened. He had never gone on them, though. No, a child, especially one like him, would have just gotten in the way.

Antoni was doing a good job. The arrows passed by close enough that the Norwegians seemed to be about to hit him. Hiccup knew that was just a ruse. Luka was the nimblest dragon of the company, and could have easily dodged the arrows. But if the vikings felt as though they were gaining headway, they would likely commit more people to an attack.

It was one of the simple yet effective strategies they had rehearsed in the many situations like this one.

Hiccup tapped Toothless, and the dragon moved forward like black liquid. They had to move slowly, or else the sound waves would give them away. The Norwegians probably didn't know that the Pomeranian army they had offended had a brigade of dragons with a Night Fury.

He gave Toothless the signal to fire a bolt of plasma. It was building inside the dragons mouth when his gaze focused on the deck so far below them. And his eyes went wide.

"Toothless, hold!"

It was too late to stop the bolt, but the dragon whirled out of the way so it went wide, and hit the water with a hiss of steam. Their position was compromised, and Antoni, realizing something was wrong, flew back over to where his friend waited, dodging volleys all the way.

"Hiccup, what's going on?"

"There are slaves on that ship." He called back, pointing. Antoni followed the direction, and his mouth thinned to a tight line. Hiccup couldn't hear, but he assumed that several curse words were finding their way out of his mouth.

"What do we do?" Antoni asked.

Hiccup shook his head. "I don't know. We'll have to get them off the ship. Damn, this was supposed to be an easy mission. They didn't tell me they had taken prisoners."

It really was things like this that complicated things. True, he could just move ahead with the attack, disregarding the slaves. Any other general might have done so. But Hiccup's value of life caused him to see them more as collateral. They were people with homes and families. Albeit, destroyed homes and passed families after the raid they had been captured from, but there were _children_ aboard that ship...

"We'll just go in. You keep distracting them. Their shock at seeing Toothless should buy me enough time."

Antoni nodded. "Yes, sir." He only ever used the honorific when a situation had grown dire. Good to know that he considered the lives of a few prisoners as a stressful scenario.

He and Luka shot off around the ship again, no longer playing the ruse of cat and mouse. His only goal was to distract them long enough for Hiccup to be able to get onto the deck.

He pushed Toothless into a steep dive, and they whisted past arrows and a bola that came screaming up from the ship. He and Toothless had been caught in one of those once. A failed attack against Swedish raiders. Those memories weren't pleasant.

They hit the deck with a resounding thud that rippled through the wood. The Norwegian stood in shock at the demon that had just landed on their boat. Unfortunately, the slaves did as well. Hiccup motioned for them to come, but they stood frozen with fear.

Rolling his eyes, he slid off of Toothless, pulling his sword from the sheath at his waist. He probably had about four seconds before their shock turned into anger.

Luckily, Antoni chose that moment to land on the deck of the ship.

"Go!" Hiccup shouted. A woman stood with a child pressed close to her. Likely a mother and son. "Go, he'll take you back home."

They needed no further urging, and scrambled over to Luka upon seeing the riders meant them no harm.

Hiccup fell into a defensive stance. The Vikings surged forward, wielding axes and sea knives. One man came particularly close, driving his knife down in an effort to kill him. Hiccup spun out of the way, the sword in his hands whirling. It was his preferred weapon, and it felt natural in his hands after so many years in the Pomeranian army.

The ship rolled with the waves, and he used the motion to his advantage, moving fluidly through the onslaught. Toothless waited, tensed like a coil, and though Hiccup knew he could destroy the enemy with a single blast of fire, he risked the life of the two other women and the child who had been taken as slaves by the Norwegians.

He cut down man after man, blood spraying over his black uniform. He hated blood. But it was something he was exposed to frequently. Hiccup had at least developed a stomach for it.

The two women cowered near the port side, pulling the young girl away, trying to hide from the battle. There were only twelve men, and if Hiccup had had backup...

Antoni had suggested bringing Stjefan. Hiccup had vetoed the idea. Two was enough. But he hadn't been planning on staging a rescue mission. He'd have to think things through a little better in the future.

He swung his sword, deflecting the edge of an axe and pushing the blow to the side. When he turned to face the next man though, he almost dropped his sword. Pain flashed up through his arm, lancing through his shoulder. Stifling a cry, he tried to block out the waves lancing out from the knife that he knew jutted from his arm. Blood pooled and ran down his arm, soaking into his sleeve.

He had fought with his right hand. The man who stabbed him must have assumed he was right handed. The dominant one. The masculine one.

Hiccup tossed his sword to his left hand, and pressed his right arm flat against his body as he renewed his attack. He was stronger with his left hand. He had tried to create ambidexterity when it came to swordplay, but he still favored _his_ dominant hand.

When he was undeterred by the knife in his arm, the Norwegians began to be a bit unsteady, but they did not give up. They attacked with fresh vigor as well, and the battle continued. Antoni would be long gone by now, racing back to camp with the women. Which was good for the success of the mission. It wasn't so good for his own survival.

Still, he pushed forward, and felled another man.

A force from behind impacted him, and he was thrown to the ground. The sword flew from his hand. He turned as he fell, reaching for one of his knives, but a foot was pressed against his wrist, preventing him from doing so and effectively immobilizing him.

" _Slaviske drittsekk._ " The man hissed.

Slavic bastard.

He grinned up at them, trying to hide how fast his heart was pounding. " _Jeg er ikke Slaviske. Norsk Drittsekk._ " He was of the same people as these men. Not a Slav.

He reeled back in shock when Hiccup spoke in his language, giving Hiccup enough time to whistle to Toothless. Three short bursts. A call to battle.

Toothless had been well trained in the army. Especially in the rider's brigade, as the Dragon General's mount and friend. He would have to be. But that didn't mean Toothless wasn't capable of ripping men limb from limb, as he did so now to the men attacking Hiccup.

It sickened Hiccup to watch his friend be the source of so much carnage. The scent of blood seemed so much more visceral knowing it was Toothless spilling it. But it was necessary. He didn't want to die, dying would do neither him, nor Toothless, any good.

The man pinning Hiccup to the ground screamed and fled, and he sprang to his feet, raising a hand to stall Toothless. Blood dripped from his mouth, and though Hiccup had grown desensitized to the carnage of battle, his stomach roiled.

He shook off the nausea, and held out a hand to the women and child. "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to take you home."

They eyed him distrustfully, but still came forward. Hiccup grabbed the young girl and set her on Toothless's back before turning to help the other women. They had to move quickly before the few remaining Norwegians regrouped to attack.

They were all on Toothless. One woman holding onto his back, the other in front of him with the child on his back. It would be a heavy load, but the Night Fury was strong. Toothless pulled back to go, and in that same second a glint of silver caught the flickering torchlight.

The woman behind him cried out in pain, and slumped backwards.

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat, and he turned to see the knife lodged in her side. From the way she began coughing up blood...it had to have hit her lungs.

They took off, but she was too weak to hold onto Hiccup, and she fell backwards onto the deck of the Norwegian ship, gasping her last breaths. The woman in front of him began to sob, covering the child's eyes with her hands.

The loyal savior in him wanted to go back, to rescue her, to do anything, but there was nothing that he could do. He could only watch as blood spilled out onto the deck as the woman he should have been able to save lay dying.

Seris.

He pushed her name aside. He couldn't lose his cool, not when they had been so successful in an unplanned rescue. Trying to force down the sick feeling rising up in his throat, he ordered Toothless to fire on the boat. The dragon did so.

The world felt disconnected for a moment, as it always did when he had lost someone. As though reality had severed itself from him, and he was floating in a world devoid of emotion. He couldn't afford to get emotional over one death. Not when there was so much worse he had been through. It was these few seconds of precious clarity that he had to recompose himself, and he took them.

When they flew off into the midnight dark, he had a stony face and a disregard for the burning ship behind them, and the one woman he had failed to save.


	12. Where I Need To Be

**Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve**

 **I love this magical thing called being on break, which allows me to write a whole chapter three separate times before finally being satisfied with it.**

 **Still, I hope you all are having a magical day, wherever you may be.**

 **(Also, I mention two new types of dragons, Stormwardens, and Lighters. I'll have pictures up on DeviantArt or my Tumblr at some point. I'm getting a Wacom Thursday, so I'll be able to draw it then.)**

 **There's a lot of Norwegian and Danish in this chapter. I tried to do my best to include in-text translations, but if you really want to know what something means, go plug it into Google Translate. :)**

 **Also 100+ followers. You guys are awesome-sauce.**

 **Carry on, carry on, carry on!**

Chapter Twelve

Where I Need To Be

Antoni frowned, biting his bottom lip in concentration. Jannik had spent the better part of an hour showing him how to care for his sword and knives. He had complained that the basic maintenance taught in training wasn't enough to keep his equipment in good shape, and had begged the blacksmith to help him. Jannik had rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath about how little time there was in the day, but it was all good-natured. Anyone else he might have said no, but he knew Antoni was well-meaning.

Now Antoni sat, running a cloth over the length of his sword, admiring the way that the blade caught the dwindling sunlight. He was proud of his work today. His would probably be the best cared for equipment besides the officers'.

After oiling the sword, he slid it back into his sheath. He got to his feet and stretched, letting out a sigh as his back popped. Dinner would be soon. He'd better get his spare weapons back to the barracks. No sense in carrying them around for the rest of the day.

He started forward, but stopped. There was a ringing in his ears, growing steadily louder. A whistling that hurt after only a few seconds.

Then his eyes widened.

Night Fury.

He stood frozen as the dragon descended onto the common green, and several others who had been alerted by the noise came rushing out to face the monster. But they stopped, and Antoni's breath caught in his throat.

There was a boy on top of the dragon. Alive, and riding it.

He pushed himself out of his stupor, running towards the two. Someone tried to keep him back, but he squirmed through, his smaller size giving him an advantage. The boy nodded forward, then started as though he was falling asleep. Or falling unconscious. Blood coated his entire side, his shredded shirt revealing crude bandages that were soaked through.

He raised his hands weakly. " _Jeg..._ _Jeg vil ikke skade dig*._ " He murmured.

Antoni stumbled back a little.

Hell, the boy wasn't just a rider, he was _Norwegian_. He spoke the language fluently thanks to Jannik, but even though these soldiers likely didn't, the language was pretty easy to identify.

One man moved to kill them both, but the Night Fury growled, turning on him defensively, though he did not attack. The boy slid off of the dragon's back, bracing himself against its body. His eyes met with Antoni's.

" _Trenger du hjelp?_ "

Do you need help?

The boy nodded slowly, trying to take a step forward.

" _Holde dragen sikker_ "

Keep the dragon...something. He didn't understand that word. Jannik probably would, but until then, they had to get this boy to the infirmary, or he would die.

"He needs medical attention!" He shouted, and the soldier closest to him, Stefan, nodded.

"We can get him to the infirmary. The demon on the other hand..."

Antoni's eyes widened in understanding.

 _Sikker_.

Safe. Safe from men who would only want to kill it.

"I don't think the dragon will hurt anyone. He asked me to...to keep it safe."

No one argued. They had come across dragon riders before. An odd bunch who didn't understand the very rational fears everyone had around the beasts. But looking into the Night Fury's eyes, he could understand the intelligence within.

"We're going to help your friend," He whispered. The dragon focused on him, then nodded once.

Antoni couldn't help but smile. The Night Fury had understood him, he was sure of it.

One of the soldiers was helping the boy towards the medical building. He may have been Norwegian, but he hadn't attacked them, and they had no basis on which to hate him. The Norwegians hated dragons, so he was likely an outcast anyways.

He waved a hand, and the Night Fury stood, following him just like he had hoped. It suddenly seemed docile, playful even, knowing that neither it, nor its master, would be hurt by the Pomeranians.

Odd.

If the creature of all hell and darkness was like this, Antoni wasn't so sure the darkness was such a bad place after all.

~o~O~o~

He sat by the boy's bedside. He had passed out while the doctor sewed his side back together. Deep lacerations, from some sort of wild animal, probably, had left him halfway to hypervolemic shock. If he hadn't of shown up right when he did, he probably would have died.

Now though, he slept peacefully, still pale, but no longer at immediate risk.

The dragon lay curled up on the ground beside him. It had taken some convincing to let the Night Fury stay, but Antoni had promised that they didn't want the dragon wreaking havoc on some far part of the camp. It was much better that it should be here, with its rider.

"When he wakes up, we'll have to do something about him." Antoni looked up to see Stefan, the soldier who had helped Hiccup to the infirmary. "He's still an enemy. They might kill him."

"They wouldn't. He couldn't even be my age. Sixteen, at most."

Stefan shrugged. "That doesn't matter to some people. We might have saved him from his wounds, but that doesn't mean we saved him. Sorry."

He ruffled Antoni's hair affectionately before leaving the infirmary.

Antoni didn't know how long he sat there, watching the boy. There were other things that he probably could have done, but he just sat there. Who was he? Why did he have a dragon? And what the hell was going through his head when he decided to show up on Pomeranian shores to ask for help?

He could deduce some answers, but not many.

Finally, though, the boy stirred. His green eyes were bright, if a little tired.

" _Hallo_ ," He murmured.

Antoni replied in kind.

"Is he awake?" Someone behind him called.

"Yes."

"Good. Ask him who he is, where he's from."

A small crowd had gathered behind him. The doctor, another soldier Antoni didn't recognize, and a few others.

The boy watched them all with interest. Of course, he didn't understand what was going on.

" _Hva er din navn?_ " Antoni asked.

He groaned, closing his eyes for a moment before responding. " _Hikke_."

Antoni laughed, but the boy's dark glare shut him up. "He says his name is...Hiccup. But I don't think he wants you to laugh about it."

"It doesn't matter."

Antoni brushed his hand against the boy's arm. " _Hvor er du fra? Er du Norsk?_ "

The boy shook his head, looking a little perplexed. " _Nej. Jeg er Dansk. Vikingr_."

"What did he say?"

Antoni paused. "He...he's Danish. A Viking."

There was some grumble of rising contention from the small group, and Antoni shook his head. "I don't think he means to hurt us. We should probably get Jannik, he'll be able to communicate better than I can if he's Danish."

Someone volunteered to go find the blacksmith, and Antoni sat down. He puffed out his cheeks, not sure what else he was supposed to do. He felt some sort of obligation to help this boy. The look of desperation in his eyes...one didn't ignore that sort of thing.

Jannik was found, and brought back to the infirmary. When he saw Antoni, he sighed.

"Only you could get mixed up in a mess like this."

And then he saw Hiccup.

He swore. "What's...he...but how?"

Antoni shrugged. "He's Danish, like you. I figured that you would be able to talk to him better than I could."

Jannik needed no further urging, and launched into a conversation with him. The boy's eyes lit up, and he tried to push himself to a sitting position. He talked with his hands, gesturing. Antoni understood a few simple words, but beyond that could only guess at some things.

Finally, Jannik turned to the rest of them. "His name is Hiccup. He's from a long ways off. He was attacked by a bear. Probably over the Tatras. And he's very grateful to that one boy who decided not to kill him and his dragon."

"So he is a dragon rider?" Antoni asked.

Jannik nodded. "He left his island with the Night Fury about a month ago. They've been making their way East."

"Where is he going?"

Jannik conversed with Hiccup quickly.

"Apparently, he had no destination in mind. He was just going to go wherever felt right." Jannik glanced back at him. "But he thinks that this might be the place where he needs to be."

~o~O~o~

Antoni glanced up as Hiccup approached him in the middle of the camp. He had a blanket draped over his shoulders, and his hair was characteristically messy.

"You certainly look deep in thought this morning."

"It's the middle of the afternoon,"

Hiccup stretched, wincing as he pulled the stitches in his arm. "Morning to me. The sky is certainly gray enough." He squinted reproachfully at the clouds.

"What were you thinking about?"

Antoni sighed, staring at the smoking fire. "Just about when I first met you."

Hiccup laughed. "Why?" He sat down on the grass next to Antoni.

"I don't know. Something about last night. It just made me think of when you first stumbled into camp."

"That was not fun. Being half-dead and then suddenly surrounded by people with a lot of very sharp objects generally constitutes a traumatizing experience."

Antoni rolled his eyes. "It's only because of your stupidity."

"Stupidity that saved my life."

He had no suitable response for that, and the conversation fell into silence.

"I'm going to take the company out later today. We need to practice getting ready quickly, what with the raids that are happening."

The raids. At least twice a week for the past three, there had been an attack on the camp. Nothing major, just burning down some tents and scaring people half to death, but it was taking a toll. Paranoia seeped through the camp like an illness.

"I'll be sure to get Luka ready then."

"If my suspicions are correct though, I'm not sure any of you are going to be able to help."

Antoni nodded. Hiccup, after studying the before of the raider, had decided it might be a Night Fury.

However, this one...it wasn't on their side.

And if he was right, none of the Stormwardens or Lighters that the rest of the Dragon Company rode would be effective in either speed or firepower.

"I'll call you in later," Hiccup said, standing up. "I'm going to go get breakfast."

"Supper."

He winked. "The life of a night soldier."

Antoni chuckled, watching his best friend walk away. Hiccup really was worried though. He had lacked a certain shine in his eyes. There was some pressure on his shoulders that he wouldn't acknowledge, but was still there nonetheless.

Homesickness.

The one time Hiccup had admitted it, he had been reluctant. After all, the army was his home. He had friends, a life. Had had a family.

Sometimes though, he missed Berk. The strange, faraway island he said was his birthplace. He missed something there.

But still, he had said, this was where he needed to be.

*Hiccup is Danish. He actually said 'Jeg vil ikke _såre_ dig,' (I won't hurt you) but with a voice so weak, and Antoni's prior knowledge of Norwegian, Antoni obviously assumed the word to be the Norwegian variant, skade.


	13. Evigheden

**Merry Christmas Eve Eve!**

 **What?! I'm updating two days in a row? Insanity, I say!**

 **Well anyway, stuff actually starts happening in this chapter. I've never really liked this chapter all that much, but it was important. It was going to happen before I had most of Act I outlined, so it's pretty vital to the story.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all are having a fabulous break.**

Chapter Thirteen

Evigheden

Hiccup dragged himself back to his tent, Toothless following behind, just as exhausted. After he had worn the company ragged practicing fast takeoffs and weapon preparation, he had spent two hours practicing the same thing himself. He didn't need it, but he wanted something else to focus on. Something else besides the deep nostalgia that skimmed his mind the entire day.

He collapsed onto his bedroll. Toothless flopped down onto his stomach, and he groaned. "Toothless, you're too heavy to do that!"

The dragon gave him an unimpressed glance before licking his face.

Hiccup pushed Toothless away, rubbing his face with a blanket to try and get the saliva out. "That is gross, Toothless. Why do you keep doing that?"

Probably because it made Hiccup laugh. It was disgusting, sure, but Hiccup always laughed. Although he was slowly pulling himself out of depression, he still wasn't as happy as he had been before. Toothless noticed it, of course. Noticed the toll it was taking on him. And sure, he probably missed Seris too, but not in the same way that Hiccup did.

And then there was the strange homesickness that had plagued him in the last few months. He was a commander in the Pomeranian army, he had friends, a life. But there was still something that called him back to Berk. A longing for the days before everything had gone wrong. There were those few blessed days of peace, his secret friendship with Toothless, finally excelling at dragon training, and being accepted, just a little bit.

He wondered what would have happened if Astrid hadn't followed him that day in the woods.

Toothless nudged him, churring softly. His green eyes were wide with concern.

"I'm alright, bud," He murmured, running his hand along Toothless's nose. "I'll be alright."

For once it didn't sound like he was trying to convince himself.

~o~O~o~

"Hiccup! Wake up!"

He sat up, throwing off the shards of sleep that still pierced him. "Antoni? What?"

"Raid," He shouted through the walls of the tent. "You have to get up!"

Hiccup glanced over at Toothless, who was already awake and ready. Smiling, he pushed through the door of his tent, and nodded at Antoni. He was already on top of Luka, her silver scales glowing red in the torchlight.

It was a new moon tonight. The perfect cover of darkness to attack.

"Where?"

Antoni pointed. "Southeaster quarter of the camp. He's getting at the storage buildings."

Hiccup swore, and pulled himself onto Toothless, clicking his prosthetic leg into the stirrup. And then they were off, Antoni following close behind, though he fell further away as they picked up speed.

He could see the fires burning amidst the cluster of buildings. A bolt of blue fire fell from the sky. In the resulting explosion, a silhouette was visible, for just a moment. A man atop a dragon.

Hiccup urged Toothless after them, squinting in the darkness. But they had lost them. Besides, it was dangerous to be out in the sky during a raid, with all of the bolas and arrows being fired to down the rogue dragon and rider.

Toothless pulled down, so that they were skimming against the grass, still flying, still moving, but in a much better place to see with the light around them. Hiccup pulled his bow from off of Toothless's saddle, the quiver already on his back. Pulling one back, he told Toothless to fly steady, and he aimed.

Another blast of fire and heat. Another second at the shadow.

He could have shot them down.

He lowered the bow, and slung the arrow back into his quiver. He couldn't do it. He probably never would be able to kill, or even hurt a dragon.

But he didn't have to. A bola came whistling past his ear. With an almighty screech, the dragon came hurtling down to earth. The soldier who had shot the bola cheered, and his comrades did as well.

It wasn't a sure thing. They had shot the dragon down before, but with the riders aid, had escaped before the soldiers could do anything about it.

When Hiccup steered Toothless to the crash sight, the rider was out, and the dragon was crawling its way from the bola, breathing heavily.

Then four soldiers surrounded the man, dragging him off. The dragon moved to follow them, but Hiccup whistled. A soft trill that Toothless had always liked.

As it came into the light, he smiled. It _was_ a Night Fury. Lighters shot plasma as well, so he had never been able to tell, but here it was. Right in front of him.

He slid off Toothless, holding out a hand encouragingly. The dragon tilted its head, and took a step forward.

Someone screamed.

He looked up to see the rider. The soldiers were struggling to pull his hood off, but he fought viciously. Still, he wasn't strong enough. The hood came down, and Hiccup's heart missed a beat in his chest.

It was a _woman_.

She glanced over in his direction, pleading. Then, at the top of her voice, she screamed, " _Evigheden!_ "

The world seemed to slow for several moments.

Evigheden.

Eternity.

 _The woman was a Viking._

The dragon crashed into the soldiers, and the woman launched herself onto the dragon, onto Evigheden, and took off. Hiccup wasted no time in doing the same.

"Wait!" He yelled, switching to Danish. It felt odd in his mouth. He had spent so many years speaking Slavic that his native language didn't feel as native anymore. "Wait, I need to talk to you!"

The woman showed no sign that she had heard him.

"Hiccup!" Someone below him called, and he turned to see Antoni. "Where are you going?"  
"I'll be back. I'm following them."

"Are you crazy? You'll get yourself killed!"

Hiccup didn't reply, just pushed Toothless faster after Evigheden, and the dragon's rider. The rider who was from his homeland.

~o~O~o~

It had started to rain.

He shivered in his thin shirt, trying to get through the storm. It wasn't a thunderstorm, thank Odin, but it was still difficult to navigate in.

They always managed to keep the rider just in sight. Toothless was an excellent tracking dragon, and he followed with incredible accuracy. The few times they had lost their target, Evigheden and the woman were always found within minutes.

Finally, they broke from the rainstorm. They were over the Baltic Sea, the waves crashing beneath them.

The rider turned, and noticing them, shook her head.

"Leave me alone," She called.

"I just want to know who you are!"

She appraised them both for a moment. Then she pointed to a jut of rocks below them. "Land there, we can talk."

Toothless dove down towards the large rocks, and Evigheden mimicked the motion. When they landed, the riders slid off their dragons. The dragons themselves circled each other, as if trying to decide whether to attack or not. Choosing the latter, they began playing around.

"Why did you follow me?" The woman demanded.

"I wanted to know what in Hel's name a Viking was doing all the way in Pomerania."

She raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same question."

"So what's your name?"

She raised her chin a little. "Eria. I was sent to attack you. Using dragons for menial labor in camp, that doesn't sit well with the one I serve."

"The one you...menial labor?" The phrase clicked. The Pomeranian army, under Hiccup's influence, had started using some dragons in place of horses or other animals. They were stronger. But still, they were well cared for. "We don't abuse them, if that's what you mean."

"You mean besides pushing your dragon to exhaustion every day drilling?"

He narrowed his eyes. "If Toothless was upset with me, he'd let me know, and you can be sure of that."

She raised her hands in surrender. "Alright." She met his gaze. "I told you my name, it's only fair you tell me yours."

"Hiccup Haddock, at your service."

Eria stiffened. "Hiccup?" She shook her head, moaning softly, "No, no, no, Hiccup you have to go back."

"What? Back where?"

"To the army. Don't follow me, you can't ever go back home, do you understand?"

"What? No, I don't understand, what is this about?"

Eria stepped forward, grabbing the front of his shirt, and pulling him towards her until their faces were inches apart. He had a good seven inches of height on her, but she was still intimidating.

"Hiccup Haddock, son of Stoick the Vast, you listen to me, and you heed my words. Don't think about going back home. Because you will die at the hands of my master. Mark my words."

She let him go. She raised her hand slightly, her palm facing the ground, and Evigheden trotted over and touched it with her nose. It had a practiced rigidity to it, the same way his men fought in their drills. Eria pulled herself up onto Evigheden.

"Please. You...just stay. Just stay."

When they had taken off from the jut of rocks, Hiccup exhaled slowly, and said to Toothless, "Damn. I thought I was dramatic."

They watched the dragon and rider fly away.

If Eria had really wanted to keep Hiccup away, she should have said nothing. His curiosity was piqued now, and all the threats in the world couldn't keep him away from Berk.

He was going back home.

Consequences be damned.

 **Just something I want to get off my chest.**

 **You know in RTTE when Heather shows up? I literally screamed and went "Oh my gosh it's Eria, what?"**

 **Because they totally stole that from me.**

 **Also, the Stormwardens look a lot like Razorwhips. And that was set before I knew RTTE even existed.**

 **Anyways, have a nice day. I may or may not update again tomorrow. It depends on how early I wake up.  
Cheers for reading!**


	14. Home Again

**Salutations, Interwebs**

 **I'm back. Hopefully to consistently update this time around. I'm on summer break now so hopefully that will mean more consistent chapter updates. I'd like to finish all of Chasing Eternity or at least most of it over the summer so that I can update once a week. That is the plan! CE will be getting weekly updates as long as I can help it. There's no set day, but it will probably end up being a Thursday or a Friday. Either way, there won't be six months of hiatus in between again, I at least promise you that.**

 **On a more random note, I'd like to say that I super-hate Eria's mary-sue name. But it's the name of a Two Steps From Hell song, and I couldn't resist.**

 **Anyways, here is your chapter. Carry On.**

Chapter Fourteen

Home Again

General Josef Celestin straightened in his chair when it was announced that someone wished to see him, but upon hearing that it was only Hiccup, he relaxed, though not quite to the extent that he had before.

Hiccup entered, saluted before speaking. "Sir, I've come to resign."

Celestin considered himself to be a fairly calm man, but Hiccup's matter-of-fact announcement caused him to physically stand up from his chair out of shock. He scanned the young man's face for any sign of humor, or extreme grief, or anything that might cause him to make such an irrational decision.

"I can arrange for an extended leave from your position here in the army, if needed." He spoke carefully, trying not to imply anything, but giving leeway enough for Hiccup to take a less extreme option.

Hiccup smiled. "I'm sorry sir, but recent events have called me back home."

"The city? What would you want there?"

"No, General Celestin, I mean my birthplace. Berk. I need to go back, and I doubt that I will ever be able to come to back."

Hiccup had told Celestin about Berk. Once, but he remembered it vividly. In making Hiccup the commander over the dragon brigade of the army, he had asked Hiccup what he feared most.

"Easy." Hiccup had said. "Going back to Berk."

When asked why, his only response was "Too many bad memories."

"Have you received word from home?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Of a sort, but the messenger was anything but unconventional." He briefly explained a story of a woman he had met, the raider who had been attacking his camps. "She warned me not to go back home, but she seemed genuinely concerned for my safety. And if someone from Berk, or the archipelago could reach me to warn me not to go home, whoever is there is certainly capable of finding me."

Celestin stood, and rounded his desk until he was facing the young man. "Do you really feel this is the best choice?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I will, regretfully, officially relieve you of your duty. I trust you. Sokol will take over as commander of your squadron, I assume?"  
"That was my thinking, yes." Tension that Celestin had not seen drained from the young man's shoulders, and his face relaxed. What had he been so afraid of?

"Thank you, General Celestin."

Celestin smiled. "Well, if you're leaving, I see no reason why you should call me that. Josef is fine, unless you should ever decide to come back." He said it hopefully. Hiccup was like one of his nephews by this point, and he hated the thought of him leaving. But he seemed determined, and Hiccup never made a decision, then backed down.

That stubbornness had gotten him a long way.

It had also gotten him nearly killed on multiple occasions.

But looking into Hiccup's bright green eyes, he saw the caution, the anxiety. The Pomeranian army had been his home for so long, and he was going back to the place he had vowed never to return to. Whatever message Hiccup had received, it was enough to make him go back on that promise.

"I wish you well."

"And to you." Hiccup half-laughed. "I don't have to fill out any paperwork do I?"

This made Celestin chuckle. "Unfortunately, it comes with the job.

~o~O~o~

"You're what?" Hiccup whipped around to face Antoni.

"I said I'm coming with you."

"No, no, no, y-you have to stay here. Who's going to be in charge when I leave if you're gone too?"  
"Yeah, right, and have your death hanging over my conscience?"

Hiccup frowned. "I never said anything about death."

"Knowing you, that's part of the game plan. I have to be around to save your ass or no one will." Antoni crossed his arms over his chest. "Face it, Haddock. I'm coming with you."

Hiccup groaned, massaging his forehead. His friend was generally quiet, but could be remarkably stubborn on occasion. "Look, Antoni, I know it will be hard to be separated, trust me, I've thought about it a lot, that was factored into my decision. But I just have this feeling. I have to go back to Berk."

"That's great. I'm coming too."

"Why? It's not going to be a picnic, there's no guarantee that they'll even want us back at Berk."

"So then why are you going?"

He sighed. "Look, Antoni, I'm questioning myself enough as is. But Eria, the girl, she was genuinely terrified. And I want to keep the rest of the army safe. Maybe if I go back, you'll stop being raided."

"You've really thought about this, haven't you."

"Exactly. And my plans fall apart if you come with me. You can't fly as fast, you don't speak Danish as well as I do-"

" _Jeg kan tale Dansk*_." Antoni said. "Why don't you want me to come."

"I just don't want you getting hurt."

Antoni smiled. "You aren't worried about that when we ride off to battle."

"I've accepted the inherent risks of the battlefield. You can take care of yourself there. This is a totally new environment. It's been eight years since I was there, things could be completely different, they could hate you because you aren't a Viking, there are a thousand things that could go wrong, and I would feel responsible if you died!"  
His friend was quiet.

"I didn't mean to shout. I'm sorry."

Antoni took a deep breath and looked up at Hiccup. "Thank you, for being my friend. But that's exactly why I need to come with you. Because even if I die out there, I will die knowing that I did everything in my power to keep you safe, and that's what a friend is supposed to do."

Hiccup had to turn away for a moment, looking up at the sky and wondering how the hell he managed to land himself someone like Antoni.

"I saved your life eight years ago. I'm not about to let you throw it away."

"You can come." Hiccup turned back to Antoni. "Good luck getting through to General Celestin though, he'll probably throw a fit when you say you're leaving too."

"I'll take me chances." Antoni saluted to Hiccup before walking away.

Hiccup wished Antoni would stay. It would make things easier on himself. But...in the long run, perhaps it would work out to be better this way after all.

~o~O~o~

"You seem rather calm about all of this." Antoni remarked. "Especially considering you broke down the other night."

"I didn't think you noticed." Hiccup reflexively pet behind Toothless' ear. One benefit of their journey was that the two had a lot more time to bond than they had ever had while Hiccup was in the army.

Antoni shrugged, setting aside the rest of his fish. They had decided to camp out on a smaller island. Hiccup didn't recognize it, but they were very close to the archipelago. He and Antoni would likely reach Berk tomorrow.

"I always notice when you have a panic attack, Hiccup. You know that."

Toothless curled himself around Hiccup. "I just don't know if I made the right decision."

Antoni laughed. "There are no wrong decisions, Hiccup. Just bad ones, and really bad ones."

"I feel like this is the worst decision I've made since leaving Seris on her own during a raid."

"No. You stop blaming yourself this instant. It isn't your fault that she's dead." Luka wrapped her neck around Antoni, settling her head into his lap. He offhandedly began scratching at her neck. "Really, Hiccup."

"I don't blame myself. It's just the truth."

The fire was dying down, crackling and snapping and shooting embers into the air, but neither of the dragons moved to light it again, and neither of the men cared.

"Well then, good night Hiccup. Try to get some sleep." Luka mewled when Antoni stood, but followed him back towards his tent. Hiccup made no similar movement, and Toothless took the opportunity to come around and lay down in front of Hiccup.

"Hey bud." Toothless' eyes were large, the pupils dilated and catching the last light of the fire. He was obviously exhausted-this journey had pushed them all-but he was pushing through it for Hiccup's sake.

"I'm going to try and get some rest," Hiccup said, but still didn't move. He had taken to analyzing his interaction with Eria for any clues as to what the situation was like on Berk, in the archipelago. So far all that he had concluded definitively was that whatever was happening, it was far-reaching enough to affect him in Pomerania. It felt like one of his inventions, when the cogs wouldn't fit together properly no matter how many times he tried to push them into place. The pieces were all there, they just hadn't clicked yet.

Unfortunately.

Hiccup ran his hand over Toothless' nose, and the dragon churred softly. "It doesn't make sense, bud. Why would she tell me not to come back? It would be in her best interests just not to say anything at all, right? Unless..."

 _Click._

Although the darkness encroached, a new light found its way into Hiccup's eyes. "Unless she made a mistake. Saying my name, admitting she knew who I was...of course I would follow her to know more. She doesn't want me to come because I would be in danger. She..."

The excitement vanished.

"She's in trouble. If I come back, she's in serious trouble."

Toothless noted the distinct shift in attitude and looked up at Hiccup. He tilted his head, his expression reading _what are you going to do?_

Hiccup set his jaw. "I have to go back. Maybe I can keep it a secret, then find out what made her so scared. I can...I can stop whoever is behind this."

Toothless snorted. _Yeah, right_.

"Hey, I've done it before." He had almost gotten himself killed, but that wasn't the point. But whatever musing he had wanted to do was cut off by a yawn. Toothless pushed his nose against Hiccup's arm.

"I know, I know, I'm going to sleep."

Well, he would go to bed. Whether or not he would get any sleep was still up for debate. Tomorrow they were going to arrive at Berk. One way or another, he was going home.

~o~O~o~

Hiccup started to recognize where they were specifically, and the pressure on his chest and the churning in his stomach intensified.

"Don't forget to breathe," Antoni called out. "You look like you're going to have a seizure."

"How are you so calm about all this?"

Antoni shrugged. "I don't have any bad memories of the place. You left intending never to come back."

Hiccup had known that, of course. He just needed to hear someone say it, to have his fear validated.

"What if they hate me? What if they throw me back out?"

"You're just now asking these questions?" Antoni asked. Hiccup was about to reply when he realized that Antoni was just joking around. Trying to lift his spirits.

Toothless had noted Hiccup's growing tension, and was making a soft rumbling sound Hiccup assumed was meant to be soothing.

"What the hell am I doing?" He whispered.

They flew in silence for a time. And then Hiccup shuddered. He got Antoni's attention, and pointed. "There. That's Berk." He started shaking a little bit, which he tried to stop, but couldn't.

He was _here_. After eight years, he had decided to come back home, completely spur of the moment, just to follow someone he thought might be in danger. There was no telling how the village would receive him. Or how his father might react. Oh gods, his _dad_.

He got his answer within minutes. A low horn bellowed out through the air. The sound for a dragon raid.

The people of Berk thought this was a wild dragon attack. With a Night Fury and a dragon they had never seen before no less. Arrows whistled past them; Hiccup had to take his eyes off of Antoni to navigate down to the island. He would be fine, they had flown through attacks before. If he could get their attention somehow, maybe they'd stop their onslaught.

A bola screamed past him into the sunlight. He tapped Toothless three times to indicate what he was about to do, and then stood up, waving his arms above his head. They were close enough to Berk now that they could hear vague shouting.

Would they even recognize him? His vague silhouette, certainly not.

Toothless dodged another bola. And Hiccup's heart skipped a beat at the cry of fear that came from behind him. He turned around just enough to see Antoni fall past him, hurtling towards the ground. Luka had gotten caught in the bola.

He had seen falls like that before. He had seen the aftermath.

Antoni was going to die.

*I can speak Danish


	15. Announcement

**Salutations.**

 **I know that I said I would update weekly. However, I've discovered in trying to write that I've really lost the passion for this story. And it's unsurprising. I've been working on this story for literally years. The original draft of Chasing Eternity was published in early 2014, and while it's been a fun journey getting here...**

 **I can't write this story.**

 **Every day I think about having to write Chasing Eternity, and I just don't want to do it. I'm not saying that I'll never do it, it's just that I'm working on other things. I'm working on a really fun novel right now called** ** _I, Leviathan_** **, and I'm posting on Wattpad (under the same username, Wafflemakerstudios, in case anyone is interested). It's hard to try and keep up with fanfiction when I've got several novels I'm trying to write.**

 **Most of all though, I've found that I don't love the How To Train Your Dragon series as much as I used to. Now don't get me wrong, HTTYD is still one of my favorite movies, though that 1st place spot is now competing with Captain America: Civil War. And that's just the thing. I'm into** ** _other stuff_** **now. Mostly Marvel right now, but I am pretty big into Undertale, and SOMA as well. I have fanfictions that I want to work on for those fandoms. And Chasing Eternity always gets shunted back to the end of my to-do list.**

 **All this to say, Chasing Eternity is going on hiatus. I've been struggling with the decision all week, but I feel it will be for the best. I have some difficult chapters to write coming up, and I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with the emotional catharsis that they'll obviously give.**

 **Unfortunately, the thing that factored most in my decision to put this fic on hiatus is that I feel no one cares anymore. I'm really not trying to fish for compliments or anything, I'm just genuinely stating what I think. Despite having 100+ followers, whenever I update I feel like no one is there. While I write for myself and my pleasure, having an audience is a big part of my presence on fanfiction. I just don't know if anyone is reading CE anymore, and if no one is reading it, there's no reason to keep pushing myself to write something I don't want to.**

 **Chasing Eternity will be updated again, eventually, when I feel like I've had enough of a break and enough of a re-immersion into the fandom that I can satisfactorily portray the characters as they are meant to be. I don't want to cancel the story, because it is a good story that I am excited to tell.**

 **Just not right now.**

 **Thank you for all of your support up until now. I won't be leaving fanfiction entirely, just moving out of this fandom for a while. Like I said, I've got other fanfictions. I have a couple of new ideas, a CA:CW fic that might get posted (Depending on how much angst I think I can reasonably attribute to my authorial presence), and a SOMA fic that will likely get posted at some point as well. And possibly an Undertale fanfiction if I want to dip my toes into that fandom.**

 **Thank you for reading, and I really hope that you'll understand my decision. However, the fact that I feel everyone will just read this and go on uncaring is the main reason I feel I should put Chasing Eternity on hiatus. I am sorry, and I really do hope that when Hiccup and Antoni come back, you'll be with me til the end of the line.**

 **-Mackenzie**


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